Keynote Speakers
Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Prize Winner
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank, pioneering the concepts of microcredit and social business, founding more than 50 Social Business companies in Bangladesh. For his constant innovation and enterprise, the Fortune Magazine named Professor Yunus in March 2012 as “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.” At the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Professor Yunus was conferred with the Olympic Laurel award for his extensive work in sports for development, bringing the concept of social business to the sports world.
In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
Professor Muhammad Yunus is the recipient of 63 honorary degrees from universities across 26 countries. He has received 143 awards from 33 countries including state honours from 10 countries. He is one of only seven individuals to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal. He has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, Newsweek and Forbes Magazine.
Professor Yunus has been stressing the need for a basic decision of ‘No Going Back’ to the old ways of thinking and doing. He proposes to create new roads to go to a new destination by creating a World of 3 Zeros – zero net carbon emission, zero wealth concentration for ending poverty once for all, and zero unemployment by unleashing entrepreneurship in everyone.
His recent focuses are:
- Professor Yunus has been campaigning for making the Covid 19 Vaccine as a Global Common Good since June, 2020, urging the World Trade Organization to place a temporary waiver on Intellectual Property rights on vaccines to free up the global capacity to produce vaccines at all locations around the world.
- Professor Yunus has launched a programme of creating a network of 3ZERO Clubs, each club to be formed by five young people. The programme aims to engage the global youth in initiating actions for creating solutions for global problems.
Mayor Paul Voelker, City of Richardson
Paul Voelker was appointed to serve as Mayor of the City of Richardson in May 2015, was elected as Mayor in May 2017 and re-elected in May 2019 and has served on the City Council since 2013.
Mayor Voelker’s past positions include serving as President and Vice President of the Metroplex Mayors Association, service on the Texas Governor’s IT Cluster Committee under the Texas Workforce Commission, Ex-Officio Board Member of the Tech Titans. Voelker’s involvement in local education includes past board memberships on the Richardson Independent School District Tomorrow Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas Jonsson School Industrial Advisory Board Executive Committee. Voelker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa in 1983. He is an executive in the Information, Communications and Technology Industry and currently is the CEO of TrenData, Inc. He has over 30 years of experience working in Richardson’s Telecom Corridor® area.
Sustainability Case Competition Winners
- First Place: Biostica (Prize Amount: $4,000)
Team members: Parth Hetal Parikh, Yash Shah, Atul Meleth (all three are supply chain management graduate students).
Business Idea: A packaging manufacturer that eliminates the use of single-use plastic through sustainable, compostable alternatives. - Second Place: Agriscape LLP (Prize Amount: $2,500)
Team Members: Ishwari Milind Gondkar (finance graduate student), Parth Kulkarni (marketing graduate student), Smita Singh (finance graduate student), Krishna Bezawada (finance graduate student), Mahesh Jajoo (marketing graduate student).
Business Idea: A service company that provides urban Indians an opportunity to experience authentic rural life by providing them with farm lodging, activities, and food inspired by the local region. - Third Place: Slate Haircare & Hygiene (Prize Amount: $1,500)
Team Members: Navya Gaddam (business administration junior), Hunter Chan (supply chain management senior), Kevin Jose (information technology and systems sophomore), Niyati Palasamudram (supply chain management senior).
Business Idea: A consumer goods company that provides a filling station at UT Dallas for students to refill bottles of personal care products that do not contain harmful chemicals. - Fourth Place: The Green Machine
Team Members: McKenna Potter (global business senior), Joseph Smrstik (political science senior), Jack Land (finance senior), Cari Reinert (international political economy senior), Tanya Kalra (finance graduate student).
Business Idea: A mobile market that provides healthy, locally sourced groceries to food deserts, focusing on South Dallas food deserts. - Fifth Place: reCycle Box
Team Members: Harshitha Pasala (information technology and management graduate student), Lisha Peswani (information technology and management graduate student), Lauren Bernal (MBA student).
Business Idea: A textile repurposing business that contributes to the creation of circular fashion by reusing, recycling, or remaking old clothing into new products.
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Monday, Jan 31, 2022 | Kickoff Event: Recording |
| Monday, Feb 7, 2022 | Competition Registration Opens |
| Friday, February 4, 2022 | Info Session (virtual) 12PM to 1 PM (CST). Recording |
| Friday, February 11, 2022 | Sustainable Business Model with Global Himalayan Expedition (10AM – 11AM CST). Recording |
| Friday, March 4, 2022 | Competition Registration Closes |
| Friday, March 11, 2022 | Business Plan Workshop with Lax Gopisetty (Infosys). 11AM – 12PM. Recording |
| Monday, March 21, 2022 | Design Thinking Workshop with Douglas Wills (Infosys). 12PM – 1PM CST. Recording |
| Friday, April 15, 2022 | Deliverable Deadline |
| Friday, April 22, 2022 | Finals Networking Event & Speaker Session (In-person event) |
Organizers
Sponsors
