TEDxUofM Award for Innovation
The TEDxUofM Award for Innovation celebrates putting imaginative and ingenious ideas into impactful action. TEDxUofM awards this annual award of $500 to a group or individual in the U-M community to support their innovative and inspirational idea to make a difference. The Award for Innovation winner is awarded on stage at our annual conference.
2024 WInner: Project Rishi
Project RISHI (Rural India Social & Health Improvement) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the sustainable development and growth of rural Indian communities. In partnership with local community members and social enterprises, they identify issues central to our target communities and provide the resources to implement solutions through extensive field research and on-campus initiatives.
2023 WInner: End The Cycle
End the Cycle was formed in July of 2020. After learning about the harsh socioeconomic disparities within Washtenaw County, they wanted to help students receive the resources they deserve to help bridge the gap in educational equity for students in Michigan. With the transition of in-person classes to virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have created a fully online, remote, and free program for students. However, given the transition back to in-person classes, ETC continues to provide free, online, educational resources for underserved students in Washtenaw County and beyond.
2022 WInner: Camp Kesem
Camp Kesem is based on the concept of supporting kids through and beyond their parent's cancer diagnosis. The flagship program of this organization is a week of free summer camp for kids whose parents have or have had cancer. The goal is to give kids a supportive place for them to have fun, despite the stress of their parent's condition. Camp Kesem at the University of Michigan secures the campsite, recruits camper families, recruits UM student volunteers to staff the program as counselors for free, executes all the fundraising throughout the year to fundraise an over $100,000 budget, among many other things. The vision for Kesem is a community of individuals supporting each other in a healing environment. Many campers attend when they are young and continue attending until they are 18. A number of their current counselors were campers for years before becoming counselors. More than anything, they seek to help campers not feel alone in a time that is isolating and frightening and prove that a beautiful community can come together in times of crisis.
2020 WInner: MedLaunch
MedLaunch is a community of students at the University of Michigan passionate about healthcare and biomedical innovation. Students of different backgrounds from Engineering, LSA, STAMPS, the School of Music, and many more participate in a year-long Biodesign Challenge to work on developing assistive technology for local community partners with disabilities, in order to solve problems commonly faced by these individuals. MedLaunch has enabled students to become leaders on campus and connect with people who are curious and want to make a difference, so that together we can make the world a healthier place.
