RESTON, Va. (February 6, 2019) – The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) has announced the “Think Like an Entrepreneur” initiative—encouraging undergraduate students in the US to solve a social issue while motivating others to join their effort. Through March 31, 2019, GMAC will accept proposals that integrate the value of impactful social entrepreneurship with a graduate business education. The proposal garnering the most votes will be awarded a $10,000 grand prize.
Many undergraduates already have entrepreneurial ambitions and are passionate about social causes. As they are charting their course for the future, GMAC invites them to tap into that spirit of innovation to develop solutions for pressing social issues.
“Professionals with an MBA or advanced business degree are driven to make an impact in their chosen industries,” said Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC President and CEO. “At GMAC, we believe in the power of business as a force for good, and that’s what this initiative is about. We are empowering undergraduate students to innovate in a way that helps look ahead to the future and address some of the bigger challenges of our time.”
To participate in the initiative, students need to submit an idea in the form of a product, service, or program that has the potential to impact and improve the lives of others. Submissions should provide supporting rationale outlining the strategy and why the approach will be successful, as well as a visual demonstration of the concept, such as a website, sketch, video, or social campaign.
Beginning on April 1, an expert panel of judges from business schools, nonprofits, and the private sector, along with a GMAC representative, will review qualifying entries, selecting up to 10 semi-finalists that will advance to the Student Voting round. On April 15, up to 10 projects will be shared in an online gallery where undergraduate students will be invited to vote for their favorite submission. The program with the most votes wins the grand prize of $10,000. The four submissions with the next highest number of votes each win $500.
For more information on the competition, including official rules, visit http://start.gmat.com/think2019/overview.
About GMAC
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is an association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. Founded in 1953, we are committed to creating solutions for business schools and candidates to better discover, evaluate and connect with each other. We work on behalf of the schools and the graduate management education community, as well as guide candidates on their journey to higher education, to ensure that no talent goes undiscovered.
GMAC provides world-class research, professional development opportunities and assessments for the industry, designed to advance the art and science of admissions. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) is the most widely used graduate business school assessment, recognized by more than 7,000 programs worldwide. Other GMAC assessments include the NMAT by GMAC™ (NMAT™) exam, for entrance into graduate management programs in India, South Africa, and the Philippines, and the Executive Assessment (EA), specifically designed for Executive programs around the world.
Our flagship portal for graduate management education resources and information, www.mba.com, receives 14 million visits a year and features the School Search matching tool and Graduate Management Admission Search Service™ (GMASS™) database, matching candidates and business schools.
GMAC is a global organization with offices in Hong Kong, China, Gurugram, India, Singapore, London, United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com.