University of Delaware students Trevor Nix and Joel Amin were on the winning team at the Technology Forum of Delaware’s Idea Challenge on March 15 in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Idea Challenge brings together teams of entrepreneurs, students and community members to compete while demonstrating that innovation, collaboration and passion can create solutions to important issues. This year’s challenge was to increase access to food, job skills, community involvement or education by using technology in an innovative way.

Teams of participants were paired with local nonprofit organizations in need of tech solutions, including the Food Bank of Delaware, Wilmington University and the Committee of 100. Experts from Open Data Delaware also joined each team.

Nix, who is a freshman entrepreneurship and technologies innovation major, and Amin, who is a sophomore University studies major, were paired with Network Delaware, a nonprofit organization that advocates for public policy and economic development.

“I was on a team with technology experts, data managers, social activists, and it was just the most diverse, random group of people that I’ve ever met, but it was beautiful,” said Amin.

Teams were given three and a half hours to develop a solution to the challenge question before presenting to the judges and a live audience.

“I didn’t realize how much power there is in putting people from different backgrounds and different ages together to work on one thing,” said Amin. “It made me realize how powerful and how valuable the information that we are learning here in the Horn Program is.”

Their idea to enhance community involvement was chosen as the judges’ choice winner. The team proposed a way to engage members of the community with political issues during non-election years by using “geo-fencing.” This concept creates a virtual boundary around a geographic area to enable useful data sharing.

“I really enjoyed the fact that I was able to learn more about how I can get involved in the community and actually use the entrepreneurship skills I’ve learned at the Horn Program to help others in the community,” said Nix.

About the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship

The Horn Program in Entrepreneurship ignites imaginations and empowers world changers through educational offerings that emphasize experiential learning, evidence-based entrepreneurship and active engagement with entrepreneurs and other members of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through participation in Horn Program offerings, students gain the knowledge, skills, personal capacities, experiences, connections and access to resources needed to successfully manifest innovation and thrive in the rapidly changing world