Partners can join Cisco in supporting global problem solvers using tech for good

Update: Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, we will be rescheduling the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge: Partners 2020.

I am proud to announce that today we are inviting Cisco partners to join us in supporting entrepreneurs who are using technology to address some of our world’s problems.

Back in 2016, we launched the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge, which recognizes post-secondary students and recent graduates who are creating breakthrough technologies, products, and services that drive economic development and solve social and environmental problems.

Since then, we have awarded nearly $1 million to change agents around the world. These innovators have developed solutions to bring fetal heart monitoring to the homes of rural mothers-to-be in India; to rapidly detect cholera; to provide affordable, solar-powered irrigation to smallholder farmers; and more.

Starting in May 2020, Cisco partners will be able to support this program – enabling us to expand the number of entrepreneurs we can benefit.

We’re calling it Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge: Partners 2020, and any partner can engage by:

Sponsoring a unique prize to recognize a solution to an issue they care about, or joining other partners to sponsor a group prize
Volunteering as judges and mentors
Funding local marketing to amplify and inspire local student teams

This enables partners to:

Expand strategic relationships with local universities while engaging students and alumni
Mentor local start-ups by connecting innovators with expertise, technology, and funding
Be recognized as a sponsor on the Challenge website and at the Cisco Partner Summit 2020

Applications for the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge: Partners 2020 will open on May 27, 2020. Winners will be announced in November 2020 at the Cisco Partner Summit.

We are excited to get started, and I hope you will join us. Together, we can be the bridge to amazing local talent who will change the world, by investing in breakthrough solutions to solve social and environmental problems