MDC Students Win Global Solutions Virtual Exchange Sustainability Challenge

Fourteen Miami Dade College students were part of a team that won the International Research & Exchanges Board’s Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge on Jan. 5.

The eight-week virtual challenge allows college students across the United States, Jordan and Iraq to collaborate on sustainable solutions to global issues.

Team Infinity consisted of 21 students—14 from MDC and seven from Al Balqa Applied University in Jordan. They developed a subscription-based app that facilitates a compost service for the agricultural needs of Jordan and Florida’s environment. 

The students were pitted against five finalist institutions, such as Borough of Manhattan Community College from New York City and Ammon Applied University College from Ammon, Jordan. Students were assigned roles like program managers and prototype designers.

For the final task, students presented a business concept and video pitch of their product. They were awarded a $2,000 grant to continue developing the app. 

They also earned a badge from the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative, a program under the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

“We were working together toward one goal,” said Geraldine O’Hallorans, Team Infinity’s budget researcher. “So any differences we had, we weren’t afraid to communicate.”

Students can sign up for the next virtual challenge by contacting Emily Sendin, a professor in the English and Communications Department at Kendall Campus, at esendin@mdc.edu.