CU Sustainable Solutions Challenge 2022
The CU President’s Office invites students to present their ideas for sustainable innovations and solutions in competition for a cash prize. The CU President’s Sustainable Solutions Challenge (PSSC) is a competition series that seeks to encourage student-led innovation in sustainability at UCCS or throughout the entire CU System.
The competition will take place on each campus and is open to entry for students enrolled at that campus. The campus winners will be awarded a prize of $1,000. Additional prizes may be awarded to runners up and audience favorites.
For the competition, students (as individuals or teams) are invited to develop multidisciplinary approaches that result in short-pitch presentations that describe proposed sustainability solutions to address environmental quality, natural resource use, and social justice with economic longevity at UCCS or throughout the CU System. Qualifying teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges and will be evaluated on anticipated impact, innovation in addressing a sustainability issue, and the feasibility of the idea. Prize funding will be directed toward the individual or teams and not to project implementation. All proposals will be shared with appropriate campus units for consideration for potential implementation.
Students can submit their interest forms anytime before proposals are due. Each campus will host an information session in February and a proposal workshop in March. Proposal submissions are due Friday, April 1 and up to 5 proposals will advance to the campus-level first stage pitch competitions.
For more, detailed information about timelines and the challenge structure, visit www.cu.edu/pssc
UCCS Pitch Night | Thursday, April 7th | 6:00-8:00pm | Dwire Hall 121 + Virtual
Thank you for joining us to celebrate the innovative solutions our UCCS students pitch to solve sustainability, climate, resource, and justice related issues!
Our Winners, Judges, and BI Teams Class:

(Pictured Left to Right:) Judges - Lisa Potoka Jones, Assistant Deans of Students, and Kayla Williams, Graduate Student and Green Action Fund Project Coordinator; Audience's Choice Winner - Ellie Carroll (not pictured: Hunter Colangelo); 1st Place - Amanda Ericson and Joey Hassett; 2nd Place - Ikenna Ozor (not pictured: Katie Morton and Caitlin Edelmuth); BI Teams Class: Peyton Walters, Cooper Jaap, Ethan Richards, and Nathan Love
Sustainability Challenges of our UCCS Campus Community
Deadlines + Dates
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Th, February 24th | 10am-1pm | UC - Sanitorium Grounds | Informational SessionInformational Session
All interested teams, including those who have not registered yet, are invited to join. Here you will learn about strategies and resources for success, get more detail on the advancement and selection criteria as well as the purpose of the competition, and have an opportunity to ask questions that you may have about competing in the PSSC. This is optional for participants.
Thursday, February 24th | 10am-1pm | UC - Sanitorium Grounds -
Th, March 17th | Proposal Workshop | UC 122Proposal Workshop
In a three-hour, drop-in session, you will have access to professionals to help you develop your main points, justifications, and sharpen the delivery of your idea in front of judges and an audience. This will also be an opportunity for you to network with professionals and potentially connect with a subject matter expert for advice. Neither event is mandatory to attend but both will provide valuable resources to strengthen your run at the prize.
Thursday, March 17th | 10am-1pm | UC 122
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Fri, April 1 | Proposals DueProposals Due
Final proposals for the competition will be due on Friday, April 1 for all teams on all campuses. Final Proposals will be evaluated by a proposal review committee, and the 20 best proposals from each campus will be carried forward to compete in the Campus Pitch Night.
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Tues, April 5 | UCCS Finalist NotifiedUCCS Finalists Notified
The 20 best proposals will be notified by email to compete in the Campus Pitch Night on Thursday, April 7th.
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Th, April 7 | UCCS Pitch Night | Dwire 121UCCS Pitch Night
Each campus will host its own pitch night as a competition among the entrants from that campus. A panel of local judges will assess each pitch based on the criteria outlined below. The winning team or individual will receive an award of $1,000. The top two proposals will be invited to compete for the Grand Prize on April 21, at CU Boulder.
Thursday, April 7th | 6pm | Dwire 121 -
Th, April 21 | Sustainability Summit Celebration @ CU BoulderSustainability Summit Celebration @ CU Boulder