USC Marshall and UCLA Anderson Unite to Find Coronavirus Solutions

UCLA Anderson School of Management

Contacts:

For USC Marshall
Matthew Simmons, matthew.simmons@marshall.usc.edu, 202-277-4890

 

For UCLA Anderson
Rebecca Trounson, rebecca.trounson@anderson.ucla.edu, 310-825-1348
Paul Feinberg, paul.feinberg@anderson.ucla.edu, 310-794-1215



USC Marshall and UCLA Anderson Unite to Find Coronavirus Solutions

‘Hack for Hope’ brings together teams from traditional cross-town rivals

 

Los Angeles (April 9, 2020)Traditional rivals USC Marshall School of Business and UCLA Anderson School of Management are uniting to search for solutions to problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The joint effort, an online hackathon called Hack for Hope (https://uschackforhope.com), is a way to empower students and community members from both schools to find connection and make a positive contribution.

“As entrepreneurs, we are always looking for problems to solve, and as educators, we want to help our students do the same,” said UCLA Anderson alumna Dr. Elissa Grossman (’96, Ph.D. ’05), director of USC’s Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Orfalea Director’s Chair in Entrepreneurship and professor of clinical entrepreneurship at USC Marshall. “We thought an online hackathon — Hack for Hope — might allow our students to feel more connected to each other and to the possibility of making an immediate, meaningful and positive contribution to our communities.”

“This crisis presents an opportunity to bring together resources from both universities for the greater good,” said Elaine Hagan (’91), associate dean of entrepreneurial initiatives at UCLA Anderson School of Management and executive director of the school’s Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “We are stronger together, and we expect that these projects will reflect all that is good about Los Angeles.”

Hack for Hope is a call for entrepreneurs, creators, web developers, mentors and volunteers across the region to come together (for the duration, virtually) to identify problems arising from the crisis and create solutions. The only requirement is that at least one team member has to be a UCLA or USC student, alumnus, staff member or faculty member.

The event invites teams to form and solve problems caused by the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. There are two tracks: Hack for Now, in which participants try to develop prototypes ready for rapid deployment or production, and Hack for the Future, where participants try to anticipate opportunities likely to emerge in the post-COVID-19 world. Themes include health and wellness, online education, communication and connections, vulnerable populations, entertainment, and small and larger businesses.

By the deadline of April 18, 2020, each team is asked to submit a two-minute video describing the problem and their solution. Judges will award up to $25,000 in prize money to the most promising projects — specifically to fund prototype development, proof of concept work or community outreach directed at students or workers in need of extra support at this time.

Judges and mentors will be announced shortly. Partners include Twitter, Product Managers Association of LA (PMA.LA), the UCLA Biodesign Program, Artificial Intelligence Los Angeles (AILA) and theapollo.media.

Join a team and read more at uschackforhope.com. 
Follow #HackForHope @USCGreif@USCMarshall@uclaanderson.

About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is among the leading business schools in the world, with faculty members globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Located in Los Angeles, gateway to the growing economies of Latin American and Asia and a city that personifies innovation in a diverse range of endeavors, UCLA Anderson’s MBA, Fully Employed MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Executive MBA, Master of Financial Engineering, Master of Science in Business Analytics, doctoral and executive education programs embody the school’s Think in the Next ethos. Annually, some 1,800 students are trained to be global leaders seeking the business models and community solutions of tomorrow. anderson.ucla.edu

About USC Marshall School of Business
USC Marshall School of Business is built on a promise: that rigorous intellectual inquiry and unprecedented global opportunity can combine to create an extraordinary environment. Located in the heart of Los Angeles — one of the world’s most diverse, dynamic and vibrant metropolises — and at the gateway to the Pacific Rim, Marshall provides an unparalleled perspective on 21st-century business. marshall.usc.edu