Forward Tutoring Team Members (Photo: Business Wire)

Dell today announced Forward Tutoring as the winner of the Dell Education Challenge, a global competition for university students with entrepreneurial ideas to improve education, both in and out of the classroom.

Forward Tutoring team members (Photo: Business Wire)

The competition received more than 400 project entries from around the world, proposing solutions to today’s biggest issues in education, including those identified in a recent poll commissioned by Dell. Global poll respondents said technology gives students a more personalized experience that they value, but added that technology needs are not being met in schools today.

The Dell Education Challenge expands Dell’s partnership with the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, the world’s largest platform to launch and accelerate student social innovators, managed by The University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Forward Tutoring is an online platform where students earn credits for volunteering in their communities and redeem those credits for tutoring from other qualified students; tutors in turn can earn scholarships and internships from supporting organizations. The project was one of four finalists who traveled to Dell World to compete for a $10,000 grand prize and other support to advance their innovative ideas. Forward Tutoring will use the funds to support burgeoning university chapters working to bring accessible online tutoring to communities.

Three other finalists also traveled to Austin for the competition. Finalists comprised:

• Gyan Knowledge Lab, which sets up hands-on learning labs for primary students in India to keep them engaged in their education and prevent drop-outs. Gyan Knowledge Lab took home the second place prize.
• e-Education for GAZA, which seeks to overcome geographic barriers to quality education for Gaza’s children with learning difficulties through video curriculum, where Gaza’s teachers can connect with education experts in their subject matters.
• Next Step Leaders, which provides leadership development training for highly effective teachers in roles such as department chairs or grade-level leaders. Teachers receive 360 degree feedback, personalized assessments, whole group leadership training and individualized one-on-one coaching.

Another seven Promising Projects were chosen to receive $1,000 each to advance their ideas. All projects in the Dell Education Challenge are automatically entered in the 2013 Dell Social Innovation Challenge, which supports promising young social innovators working to solving the world's most pressing problems by providing teaching, training, start-up capital, and access to a network of mentors, advisers and like-minded student social entrepreneurs. Projects compete for more than $350,000 in cash awards and other prizes to bring their ideas to life. Entrants must post projects by Jan. 28, 2013 for consideration in the 2013 challenge.

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