News & Media

UW-Green Bay Hosts Innovation in Aging Student Idea Competition

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host its first-ever Innovation in Aging student idea competition from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 3, 2017 in the Christie Theatre, University Union. Teams of three to five students will compete to create an innovative solution that combats challenges and improves quality of life for an aging public.

“To respond to the demographic shift toward an aging population, and contribute to older adults living healthy, independent and productive lives, we need to think differently and more creatively about aging challenges,” said Susan Gallagher-Lepak, UW-Green Bay's Dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Welfare.

The competition will help students further promote skills in areas such as idea development, collaboration, public presentation and they will gain an understanding of that which defines intellectual property.

The WiSys Technology Foundation is providing information and resources to teams throughout the competition. Executive Director Arjun Sanga is excited to be working with the UW-Green Bay community to host this event.

“This is a great example of providing students with the practical experience to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-world problems,” said Sanga.

Student teams represent a number of disciplines across the campus including health communication, computer science, human biology, psychology, nutrition science, business, human development, accounting, social work, environmental design and others. Several teams represent student organizations on campus as well.

It is the hope of the planning committee that this event will be an annual UW-Green Bay event, according to UW-Green Bay Prof. Dean Von Dras (Psychology).

The judging panel is composed of two faculty members and representatives from Green Bay’s Aging and Disability Resource Center and Curative Connections (Green Bay), and Fresco Services (New London). The top award is a $500 prize.

Attendees are encouraged to vote for the “People’s Choice Award" and enjoy food and refreshments.