Community College Innovation Challenge 2024

The Submission Period for the 2024 Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) is now open!  Submission Period closes April 2, 2024 11:59pm PDT

The CCIC is a national competition in which community college student teams (2-4 students), 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. This Challenge is designed to enable community college students discover and demonstrate their abilities to use STEM to make a difference in the world and to translate that knowledge into action.

The exciting Boot Camp opportunity is held in Washington D.C from June 10-13th, 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.

TO APPLY:

Each team, working with their mentor, should review the rules of eligibility on the CCIC webpage, and if eligible, develop their breakthrough idea that addresses a real-world problem. They will then sign up the entire team, and submit their proposal. 

Learn about previous InnovATEBIO program submissions:  Del Mar College and Los Angeles Mission College

The CCIC is lead by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Contact ccic@aacc.nche.edu if you have questions.

Follow the Challenge on Instagram #CCIChallenge 2024