Video Contest – Can Business Education Change the World?

By Nicole Zefran, Global Business School Network

Can Business Education Change the World?

Can Business Education Change the World? We think so. Here at the Global Business School Network, we believe that business education is essential to improving economic and social development in the developing world. Business students, from MBAs to entrepreneurs going through certificate programs – are making a positive impact in developing countries through their volunteer work, student projects, new ventures and growing careers.

Good leadership and solid business skills reap huge, sustainable benefits that can make a real difference in people’s lives. Business education provides the skills emerging leaders need to improve social development, drive economic growth, inspire innovation and strengthen infrastructure.

In order to capture and celebrate business student’s contributions in the developing world GBSN is holding our 3rd annual MBA+ Challenge Video Contest. For the first time we’ve opened the contest up to ALL business, management and entrepreneurship students and recent graduates (in the past 5 years) from around the globe – hence the “+”. The challenge is to create a powerful video demonstrating how they are utilizing their business skills and education to impact lives in the developing world. The video should be no longer than 3 minutes, and can be produced and submitted by teams or individuals.

First prize wins an all expense paid trip, for one team member, to GBSN’s Annual Conference and 10th Anniversary Celebration in Tunis, Tunisia June 10-12, 2013 where he or she will present the winning video. The winning team will also be featured in on the nextbillion.net blog as well as the GBSN website. The 2nd and 3rd place winners will be highlighted in the GBSN’s newsletter, website and Annual Conference program.

On top of that, the producers of the top five videos as determined by online voting will each get the chance to have a mentoring session by Skype with an international leader in business or development. Mentors include top executives from places like IBM and United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Last year’s winner was a group from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Their video was inspired by the group’s participation in the “$300 House project.” A team of professors and students traveled to Fond des Blancs, Haiti to help the poverty stricken town improve living conditions. The team visited with families to better understand the problem, and came up with an architectural plan to build 100 houses over the span of five years.

“From these visits and continued joint efforts by the entire team, we have been able to apply the skills we have learned at Tuck to make an impact in Haiti. The Tuck MBA has provided the business education and tools my classmates and I needed to see this project through to make an impact on thousands of people’s lives,” said Jacqueline Stein, one of the winning team members. Check out the rest of Stein’s blog post on nextbillion.net, where she shares her story of the project that inspired the winning video.

Click here to check out the rest of the winning videos from 2012 and 2011.

Last year’s winners are a perfect example of what we are looking for. The video was powerful and demonstrated how these students utilized their business skills and education to directly impact an entire village. What’s most important is not production quality, but that videos show how a real impact was made using what was learned in business school. It could be a series of photos, a powerpoint, or even just words on a screen. If it tells the story, it counts.

The contest will be open for submissions March 1st through the 31st. The online voting polls will be from April 1-14th. After the 5 finalists are chosen by votes, a panel of judges will then select the first, 2nd and 3rd place winners. This will be announced April 30th. So, get creative and produce a powerful video to show the world what business education can do!!

For more information on the contest, go to gbsnonline.org/mbachallenge. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @mbachallenge for updates, videos, opportunities for students to make a difference.

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