Four Elon students have won recognition from Stanford University for their entry in a global contest that challenged teams to create something of value using nothing more than water bottles. Their video entry stemmed from the Elon Innovation Challenge, hosted locally by the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Elon University.
Stanford honored the entry with its “Most ‘Auto’dacious” Award. Judges included Stanford University representatives, entrepreneurs, and senior executives from firms such as Deloitte, Logitech and CBS Interactive, according to the Global Innovation Tournament web site.
Both contests encouraged teams to “add value” to an everyday object. Teams had less than a week to create a video of three minutes or less to show added value to any number of water bottles.
Value could be measured on any scale – social value, financial value or even humor – and came from actually implementing ideas and delivering results.
The “Waterbottle Powered Car” won third place among local judges at the Elon Innovation Tournament but was deemed the audience favorite by two dozen students in attendance at the results showcase. The team used bottles to make a handheld “vehicle” that “drove” through a fast food drive-thru and in a car wash, among other places.
The teammates chose to emphasize entertainment value.
“This is yet another example of how our students are world class,” said Gary Palin, director of the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. “They competed against some of the top universities in the world to win this recognition.”
As part of their local recognition, the “Waterbottle Powered Car” team donated $100 to the Boys & Girls Club.