What is Global Jam?
Global Jam is an idea factory - it helps develop design thinking and entrepreneurial mindset skills. Join us in this event to find social innovation solutions to real-life challenges in 3 key areas from the United Nations Sustainable Development Initiative.
This year's Global Jam
startGBC Global Jam is accepting applications from any George Brown College student or recent graduate who attended an academic program between April 2024 and February 2025, with an active georgebrown.ca email account, who is looking to develop a more robust entrepreneurial mindset and an understanding of the principles of Design Thinking.
The Global Jam subject matter challenges will be based on the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We have selected the 3 following themes for individuals to join others in developing solutions.
- Reduced inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
We request that you register as an individual, and closer to the event, we will hold a match-making session where you can join 3-others to create a team of 4 people. We will send detailed information before the match-making session on the subject matter the challenges will be based on so you can work with like-minded individuals from any academic centre.
We will run this event as a virtual competition and ask that participants indicate if they will attend in person or participate remotely. All team members will be placed in teams that are made up of the same selection so that all team members are either vi. The Global Jam will occur over four days and operate between
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday 28th February - Kick-Off Launch
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday 1st March 2025 - Teamwork
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday 2nd March 2025 - Teamwork
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday 3rd March 2025 - Presentations & Vote
Please use the following link to participate.
Prize Pot
The Global Jam will have a $3,000 prize pot, and the winning teams will split the prize funds equally between team members.
- The winning Team will receive $1,500
- 1st Runner-Up Team will receive $1,000
- 2nd Runner-Up Team will receive $500
Learn more about this competition
- Interested participants must register their interest on this page by 4:00 p.m., Monday, February 24, 2025.
- Participants will be sent full details on the design jam on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, and must attend the opening match-making/kick-off session on Friday, February 28, 2025.
- Design jam participants must attend all days of the design jam and actively work with team members on producing a solution to one of the set challenges.
- All teams will pitch their ideas on Monday, March 3, 2025, to a panel of public viewers who will cast votes.
- Winners will be selected on Monday, March 3, 2025, and winners will be announced by 8:00 p.m. Monday, March 3, 2025
- Funds will be deposited into their George Brown College Stu-View student account within 28 days of the end of the design jam.
- Entries must be single participants willing to work as a part of a team.
- Participants must be current students at George Brown College or recent alumni (who graduated between April 2024 and February 2025).
- Open to domestic and international students, and prize funds will be split equally between all team members.
- Applicants must use an active George Brown College email account to submit an application and receive competition communications and be able to receive funds if successful.
- All applicants must be available to present a 5-minute pitch on the afternoon of Monday, March 3, 2025, in order to be eligible to receive funding.
- Finalists are not guaranteed prize funds if they do not adhere to competition guidelines.
- Presentations will be presented to a panel of judges and a public vote.
- Applicants will retain ownership of all intellectual property contained in their submissions.
- Applicants are encouraged to review the UN Sustainable Development Goals before making an entry
By submitting an application to the startGBC Global Jam competition, applicants consent and agree to abide by the following rules and regulations:
- George Brown College is not responsible for any lost, late, illegible, incomplete, falsified, destroyed, or failed entries, or for any electronic miscommunications or failures of any kind, which may limit a person’s ability to participate in the competition.
- Each participant may only work with one team.
- Deliberate or negligent misappropriation of the intellectual property of another person is an ethical breach that will be grounds for disqualification from the competition.
- In the event that startGBC is prevented from continuing with the contest by an event beyond its control, startGBC or George Brown College has the right to modify, suspend, extend, or terminate the competition.
- startGBC and George Brown College reserve the right to use competition submissions, as well as photographs or videos taken of competition applicants, as a group or individually, over the course of the competition, for educational and promotional purposes in perpetuity.
- In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an entry, the entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address used to submit the entry at the time of entry. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet service provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.
- By participating in the startGBC Global Jam competition, entrants agree to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of startGBC and the judges, which are final and binding in all respects. Failure to comply with the Official Rules will result in disqualification.
- All rules and regulations proposed within are subject to change, at the sole discretion of startGBC, at any time, without previous warning or notification to contest applicants.
- All applicants will be required to complete a competition exit survey which will require applicants to reflect on the process and personal development in line with the George Brown College Human Skills Framework.
- The final competition will be recorded by startGBC/George Brown College and will be made available for viewing by startGBC/George Brown College. All applicants will be required to sign a video/media release form.
- If details provided by applicants are no longer active on Monday, November 18, 2024, funds will become void.
- George Brown College and startGBC respect your right to privacy. Personal information collected from applicants will only be used by George Brown College/startGBC to administer the competition and, only if consent is given at the time of entry, to provide applicants with information regarding upcoming workshops, events and competitions. For more information regarding the manner of collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by George Brown College, please refer to the George Brown College Privacy Policy.
