For Students — Colorado Impact Challenge

Why Students Participate

Seven reasons to show up.

Turn your ideas into impact, build the skills employers value, and shape the future of Colorado.

Why Students Participate

Turn your ideas into impact — and build the skills employers value.

01
Work on Meaningful ChallengesTackle real-world problems that create positive impact.
02
Engage with Industry LeadersLearn from and collaborate with experts and practitioners.
03
Build Real-World ExperienceSolve complex challenges outside the classroom.
04
Develop Innovation SkillsStrengthen critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.
05
Expand Professional NetworksConnect with peers, mentors, and professionals across Colorado.
06
Compete for Bounty AwardsCash bounties and recognition for your solutions.
07
Explore Career OpportunitiesDiscover career paths and connect with future employers.

Register Now →

Real money — bounty winners, 2024

Mentors and judges, up close

The Fall 2026 Sprint

Oct 20 – Nov 09.

A structured, time-bound sprint that takes your team from challenge briefing to final pitch — with mentorship and resources along the way, and the room to put in the work your solution deserves.

Oct 20

Kickoff · In Person

Partners present their challenges
You form a team and pick your track
You leave with your project set up — no homework yet

Oct 21 – Nov 08

Build, Mentorship & Decks

Teams develop their solutions online
Mentors and partners answer your questions
Preliminary decks submitted for review

Nov 09

Celebration Dinner · In Person

Teams present their final solutions
Judged on the six Challenge criteria — plus your partner’s, on a challenge team
Bounties awarded on the spot

Two Ways In

Bring an idea, or
take on a challenge.

Every student can enter with their own idea. Taking on a partner’s challenge instead is entirely optional — you choose at the Kickoff, once you’ve heard what the partners brought. Both tracks compete for the Challenge grand prizes; a partner challenge adds their bounty on top.

Open to everyone

Bring Your Own Idea

You already have something you want to build. Bring it, find a team, and spend three weeks turning it into a real, defensible pitch.

Any early-stage idea you care about
Judged on the six Challenge criteria
Same mentors, same platform, same coaching
Eligible for the Challenge grand prizes

Past teams who came this way went on to win CU’s New Venture Challenge.

Optional

Take a Partner’s Challenge

A real organization publishes a real problem and puts cash behind it. Pick one at the Kickoff and compete for that partner’s bounty.

Problem statements published before the Kickoff
Judged on the six criteria plus the partner’s own
Ask the partner questions directly, all sprint
Cash bounties from $5,000 to $35,000 — plus the grand prizes

Usually at least two teams take each challenge, so it’s a real competition.

What You’re Actually Signing Up For

No idea required.

The most common reason students talk themselves out of this is thinking they need a startup idea, a team, or a business background. You need none of them.

Arrive Empty-Handed If You Like

If you don’t have an idea, take a partner’s challenge — they’re written and published before the Kickoff, so you spend the night choosing one rather than inventing one. If you do have an idea, bring it.

You Leave the Kickoff Ready

Teams form in the room, across campuses and majors. Before you go home you’ll have a team, a challenge, your project set up, and a 15-minute assessment showing exactly which skills your team is missing — while there’s still time to recruit.

Help Is a Comment Away

Your team works in CrowdSolve. Mentors matched to your field, the partner who owns your challenge, and an AI mentor all answer questions right on your project. Ask a sharp question and the whole cohort sees the answer.

It Fits Around Your Classes

Two in-person evenings — Oct 20 and Nov 09, both at Colorado School of Mines. Everything in between is online and on your schedule, with two live working sessions along the way.

How You’re Judged

You know the rubric
from day one.

Every team is evaluated against the same six Challenge criteria, whichever track you take. Nothing is hidden and nothing is decided after the fact.

01

Potential for Meaningful Impact

02

Innovation & Creativity

03

Feasibility & Scalability

04

Understanding of the Problem & Audience

05

Strength of the Team & Use of Mentorship

06

Quality & Clarity of the Final Presentation

Impact Domains

Where your future work
will likely land.

Eight domains where Colorado's challenges — and its opportunities — are concentrated.

Community Resilience & Infrastructure

Energy, Water & Resource Systems

Health, Wellbeing & Human Development

Workforce, Opportunity & Economic Participation

Technology, Data & Decision Systems

AI Workflows

Food, Agriculture & Land Systems

Material Innovation

Watch on YouTube ↗

Hear It From Students

Watch a winning pitch.

A CU student team mapped underused church land across Colorado with GIS to generate leads for affordable-housing development — and won a $4,000 bounty for it. This is their actual pitch.

More winning projects →

From Past Events

Students in the arena.

Final presentations

Team recognition

And the winners are…

Pitching to the room

Bounty awards, 2024

Celebrating the win

Important Notes

The fine print,
in plain English.

Nothing here should surprise you on the night — so it's all up front.

Presentations may be photographed or recorded. The Celebration Dinner may be open to invited guests, and final presentations may be captured for program use.
Keep confidential or proprietary material out of public pitches. Assume anything in your presentation is seen by the whole room — and by anyone it is later shared with.
You're responsible for third-party material. Secure permission for any copyrighted images, data, or code you use in your work.
Partner challenges carry their own terms. Confidentiality and intellectual-property requirements are agreed with the partner before their challenge opens.
Details can change. Organizers may update the schedule, rules, or participation requirements — we'll tell you if anything material moves.
Judging decisions are final.

Solve something real.
Earn some coin.

Seven reasons to show up.

Turn your ideas into impact — and build the skills employers value.

Oct 20 – Nov 09.