Community College Innovation Challenge 2023

AACC is pleased to announce that applications will open for the 2023 Community College Innovation Challenge on January 17, 2023, with a submission deadline of March 30, 2023. To learn more and to apply, please visit www.aaccinnovationchallenge.com or contact ccic@aacc.nche.edu.

The CCIC is led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is a national competition where community college student teams, working with a faculty or administrator mentor, use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems; participate in an Innovation Boot Camp; and compete for cash awards. AACC is pleased to announce that planning is underway to hold the Innovation Boot Camp as an in-person event in the Washington, D.C. area on June 12-15, 2023—and full travel support will be provided to the finalist teams to attend.

The Boot Camp provides professional development, mentoring, and coaching designed to build strategic communication and entrepreneurial skills to help students advance their innovations in both the private and public sectors. The event culminates in a poster session and engagement opportunity with STEM leaders and Congressional stakeholders, and a pitch presentation in front of a panel of industry and entrepreneurial professionals to determine the first, second, and third place winning teams.

Students attending InnovATEBIO member colleges have had great success as they participated in the Challenge over the years. To read more about past participants, take a look at these blogs on the InnovATEBIO web page:

L.A. Mission College makes the Top 10 in the NSF Innovation Challenge

Ivy Tech of South Bend in the Community College Innovation Challenge

DelMar College: NSF 2017 Community College Innovation Challenge