Last year, Michigan Colleges Alliance launched the MCA College Community Challenge (MCA C-3) in partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund and the Jandernoa Foundation. MCA C-3 brings together teams of students and faculty from MCA member institutions, along with local community partners, in a scholarship competition to create entrepreneurial solutions to impact and improve their campus communities.
Some 70 students, faculty, community leaders, and others joined the program last year, with nearly $60,000 awarded in stipends and scholarship support. Teams participated in Design Thinking workshops and coaching sessions led by the Henry Ford Learning Institute and had the option to complete additional study to receive a credential in Design Thinking at the end of the experience. As a capstone to the program, each team submitted written and video proposals and participated in a pitch session to the C-3 steering committee of Michigan business leaders. The highest scoring team was from Alma College and developed an affordable DDx biosensor to identify pollution in the nearby Pine River.
This year, MCA C-3 programming kicked off in January with six student-faculty teams participating. Proposals and final pitches are due in April with MCA scholarships awarded for the most compelling and actionable solutions. We look forward to sharing the results later this spring.
