LaunchPad Hosts 2026 Hult Prize Pitch Competition Campus Qualifier
Syracuse University Libraries' LaunchPad is hosting the Hult Prize Competition Campus Qualifier on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 12 to 2 pm. The Hult Prize is a student pitch competition focused on social impact ventures that address at least one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The winning team will receive a $1,250 award generously provided by this year's sponsor, UmiEconomy through its Charitable Foundation, The Audacious Dream. The winning team will also receive an all-expense paid trip to the Global Hult Prize Nationals in Boston for a chance to continue to the Global Accelerator and finals in London. The winner in London will receive $1 million in funding.
This year's judges include:
- Tammy L. Rosanio, Associate Director, Partner Programs, Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems
- Sean Lattimore Jr., Co-founder of Suptho, a new-age application development company that merges users' digital and physical worlds
- Tyrone Fernandes, founder of Tenebroso, a sustainable clothing line
- Dr. Ibou Thior, senior technical adviser in the department of HIV/tuberculosis/viral hepatitis at PATH
- Don Carr, Syracuse University Professor of Industrial and Interaction Design, and Syracuse CoE Faculty Fellow
- Kira Crawford, Principal at Ascentis, an equitable economic development Consulting Firm
SU’s Hult Prize representative in 2025, SipSafe+, continues to develop its line of restaurant and bar safety products and will be competing as SU’s representative team in the ACC InVenture Competition on March 27, 2026, which will be hosted at the University of Notre Dame.
Story by James Slaven '29 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)