$20k Student Wellbeing Competition
This competition focuses on innovative ideas or initiatives that promote the social wellbeing of students at Boston University. The competition is made possible through partnerships across campus, with funding provided by BU Student Wellbeing, College of Communication, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Hospitality Administration, School of Social Work, and Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.
The success of these ventures is assessed based on creativity, novelty, reach, and feasibility to implement.
Competition Structure & Key Dates
The Competition consists of three stages that are detailed below.
Round 1: Written Application
All interested teams must submit an application by Jan. 30, 2026. Applicants from up to 10 teams will be notified by email by February 2026 (TBD) if they are advancing to round two.
The initial application does not need to have the full business model but does need to be clear about the problem to be solved (or opportunity realized) and the primary audience for that solution. To win subsequent rounds, teams will be expected to have fleshed out their business model, identified the resources they require, and make an investor pitch.
Round 2: Semi-Finals – March 2026
The format for the Semi-Finals includes an 8-minute pitch with slides and a 5-minute Q&A with the judges at the School of Hospitality Administration, Room 110. This session will not be open to the general public. All qualifying teams are expected to attend the Semi-Finals event in its entirety. Semi-finals will take place at SHA.
Teams that progress to this round will be expected to have developed their concept further, incorporating as appropriate any feedback they received from the first-round judges, and any guidance they receive from faculty or mentors. Finalists will be announced by March 2026.
Round 3: Finals – at the Hospitality Leadership Summit – Friday, April 10, 2026
The format for the Finals includes a 10-minute pitch and a 10-minute Q&A session with judges at the School of Hospitality Administration, Room 110. This session may or may not have attendees. All qualifying teams are expected to attend the Finals event in its entirety.
In addition, all participants in the Finals pitching round must attend the SHA Hospitality Leadership Summit where they will make a 2-minute pitch on stage at the Summit. Winners will be announced at the Summit.
Payment of awards will be in one of three ways:
- Non-dilutive investment in a for-profit entity, if one exists, or
- Grant to a nonprofit entity, if one exists, or
- A taxable distribution – divided equally among members of the team.
Eligibility, Requirements & Expectations
Please read the following information carefully. SHA reserves the right to verify any submitted information for accuracy to address any circumstances in which the following rules are not followed, and to disqualify any entry.
- Teams must have at least one current BU degree-seeking student or a BU Class of 2025 alumni who is a co-founder, plays a key management role in the venture, and will take part as one of the main presenters in each competing round.
- Teams may include non-BU members if the previous requirement is met.
- The application should be submitted by the BU student or Class of 2025 alumni who is the founder or co-founder of the venture and will act as the primary team contact during the competition.
- A team can consist of one up to a maximum of 5 members. We strongly recommend at least two members, as research shows teams have a greater likelihood of success than solo ventures.
- All members must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.5.
- Teams are not required to have an operating venture or a full business plan to apply; any team with a great idea that is hospitality-related can apply.
- Applicants must commit to being available to attend and participate in the Semi-finals, Finals, and SHA Leadership event.
The following requirements apply to all applications submitted for the Student Wellbeing Competition:
- Ventures must be non-clinical concepts that support student wellbeing, specifically the dimension of social wellbeing.
- Ventures must be student-facing and action-oriented, meaning the end users are current BU students who “do something” to learn how to support their own social wellbeing (i.e., there is an educational activity involved).
- Ventures must be original and cannot replicate or adapt an existing resource or initiative at BU.
- Ventures must include an administrative or academic partner that can serve as an institutional home base to facilitate delivery and execution of the venture at BU, as well as continuity following the team members’ graduation from BU.
- Delivery timeline: Summer 2026 or during the 2026-2027 academic year
The winners of the Student Wellbeing Competition agree to two conditions:
- Complete the Student Wellbeing Program Feedback Report once the venture has been completed to document impact, reach, and areas for improvement.
- Participate in quarterly check-in meetings with the Managing Director of Student Wellbeing leading up to the delivery of the venture.
Participant Expectations
This is a multi-round competition with many moving parts and logistics, including locations, dates and time, materials that may need to be emailed/collected in advance, etc. You are expected to be responsive to communications that will generally be sent by email. If you don’t respond to an email within 48 hours, we may assume that you are not participating in the next stage of the competition.
What is an example of a Student Wellbeing Venture?
A notable example of a Student Wellbeing venture is BU Meetup. Two graduate students from different programs at Boston University came together with an idea to connect graduate students interested in meeting peers from other programs on campus. Originally piloted in one school using a manual matching process, a second graduate student brought his tech expertise to the table by creating an application to match students into trios as an opportunity to socialize and foster community. This program was launched in the fall of 2022 with the support of the Office of Student Wellbeing. As a student-run project, the goal was to facilitate more casual interactions across academic units. Since October 2022, this program has matched hundreds of students from different departments into small groups to meet and foster new connections at BU.
Judges and Judging Criteria
Student Wellbeing Track Judging Criteria – All presentations will be judged based on the following parameters – 25 points each
- Problem and customer identification: The team presents a clear, logical and compelling problem related to social wellbeing of today’s student population, and their venture is uniquely positioned to address that problem.
- Product or service alignment with mission of Student Wellbeing and dimension of social wellbeing, in particular: The team clearly presents how their venture will be able to foster community, be accessible to a wide range of students, be action-oriented (i.e., there is an activity involved), and communicate a message or “takeaway” about implementing social wellbeing practices into students’ lives. The venture is designed to collaborate with campus partners and stakeholders to maximize impact.
- Business model: The team presents a clear explanation of the business model, including a compelling value proposition, clear definition of customer segments and financial viability. The venture is scalable on BU’s campuses.
- Impact: The venture has the potential to make a significant impact on the market, is practical and sustainable, and is inclusive of a diverse student population. The venture impact is measurable and engages at a community or population level, rather than just the individual (i.e., macro over micro).
Judges:
- Kris Covarrubias, Director, Strategy, Marketing and Communications, Student Wellbeing
- Dr. Karen Jacobs, Associate Dean for Digital Learning & Innovation, Clinical Professor, Sargent College
- Dr. Carrie Landa, Executive Director, Student Wellbeing
- Nancy Martinsen, Associate Dean of Students
- Melissa Paz, Assistant Director of Mental Health Promotion, Student Health Service