With the help of Peter T. Paul, the topics of the First Year Innovation and Research Experience (FIRE) Grand Challenge were recently revealed.
This year's project themes are inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The entire first-year class participated in a fun and exciting reveal: they simultaneously bit into a cupcake to discover their assigned challenge topics, identified by the color of the frosting inside.
During the event, the new Ignitors—representatives for each FIRE team selected by their Peer Advisor—were introduced, along with the current individual and team leaders in FIRE's game component.
The first step in the Grand Challenge is for teams to conduct research. Each team will now break into smaller groups to explore four critical dimensions of their assigned issue: social, political, environmental, and scientific/technological aspects.
In the spring, the teams will apply their research to develop business plans, which they will present at one of the largest undergraduate research conferences in the country, UNH's Undergraduate Research Conference (URC). The business plans and presentations will be judged by a panel of faculty, peers, and alumni, with top-performing URC groups earning significant point values for their FIRE teams.
Shortly after the URC, the overall winning FIRE team will be announced, based on the points accumulated throughout the year. Members of the top team will each receive a $500 academic achievement prize.
The competition is officially underway, and teams are eager to tackle their sustainability challenges. We look forward to seeing how these ambitious projects develop.
Mark your calendar for the Undergraduate Research Conference this spring to witness the results of their hard work!
