By Adio Alexander, senior international business studies and economics double major
On November 1, 2019, Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) hosted an information and networking session for the Hult Prize. The Hult Prize is a worldwide, student competition focused on improving society. Over the course of one year, students are tasked with generating profitable solutions for social and environmental problems. The aim is to get young people to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and combine sustainability with profitability. The event featured short talks from TUJ Associate Dean for Academic Affairs George Miller and Hult Prize Foundation members such as the CEO, the regional and global directors, and former competitors.
The founder and CEO, Ahmad Ashkar, summarized the Hult Prize with the phrase “Make money while changing the world.” He emphasized the goal is to establish a profitable business that allows one to make a positive impact with every dollar they make. “We can use capitalism to improve the world,” said Askhar.
Rice Inc., the 2018 Global Hult Prize winning team, was also present. They explained their idea of an efficient way of drying rice, and how the Hult Prize helped them turn that idea into a lucrative business model. This was arguably the most compelling part of the presentation.
It is one thing to hear the CEO speak about what the Hult Prize seeks to do for its participants, but another to hear the success story directly from former competitors.
Perhaps thanks to Ashkar’s casual, interactive approach—he began by telling everyone to get up and stretch—there was an impressive level of participation from the audience. Students not only from TUJ but also from universities such as Waseda, Showa Women’s University (or SWU) and Tokyo University of Science attended. When prompted by Ashkar to share what environmental issues “bothered” them most, a student from Indonesia revealed that due to climate change, it is predicted that Northern Indonesia would be underwater by 2050. Another student spoke about his experience in China, where he noticed farmers driven solely by profits were using chemical pesticides that were damaging the soil, resulting in low quality produce. So many people wanted to share their stories and ask questions, there wasn’t enough time to hear from everyone.
Hult Prize representatives have been working to get more Japanese schools to participate. One student remarked that at last year’s information session, only ten people attended. This year, there were over one hundred attendees. It seems likely an increasing number of students from TUJ and Japan in general taking advantage of this opportunity.
<student writer> Adio Alexander
Adio is a senior international business studies and economics double major at TUJ, interested in specializing in economics and world trade. She is trilingual — English, Japanese and Mandarin — and hopes to be able to speak five languages by 2020. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and watching old films.
