The Sustainable Impact Contest of the Business School
The contest of the Business School for sustainable projects
Students at the University of Mannheim are not only educated professionally, they are also involved in numerous projects and student initiatives in their free time. There are many good ideas, but often the projects lack the necessary funding and visibility. Therefore, the Sustainable Impact Contest was created.
The Business School of the University of Mannheim announced this contest for the first time in 2016 under the title “Social Project Contest”. After a three-year break, it is back under a new name! At the Sustainable Impact Contest, student initiatives of the University of Mannheim, but also external initiatives and associations are called to apply with their project. Under the umbrella term of sustainability, these can be socially as well as ecologically oriented. Important is that the project has an impact on our society! The faculty supports the winning project by selling wine at the annual Bachelor BWL graduation party: One euro per bottle automatically goes to the winning project. The cooperating Mannheim Business School doubles the amount at the end.
Last years' winners
2019
Müttersprache (engl. „Mother tongue“)
Credit: Nele Westrick“Müttersprache” offers language courses and simultaneous childcare for refugee women in Mannheim. For many fugitive mothers it is difficult if not impossible to attend an all-day language course as they ask themselves: who will be taking care of our children during this time? Anne-Sophie Waag and Sandra Haldimann recognized this problem and thus founded their association “Müttersprache” by offering those women an easily accessible first point of contact for learning the German language. Parallely to the language courses, which are being offered twice a week, the children of the women are being taken care of. The language courses as well as the child care offers are being mainly carried out by students of the University of Mannheim.
2018
Retterherz – public relations work for helping professions
“Retterherz” is the winner of the Social Project Contest 2018. “Retterherz” tries to gain a greater acceptance for helping professions and volunteer activities and to attract young professionals through public relations work in social networks.
2017
Blauherz – style without borders
Credit: enactus Mannheim e.V.In 2017, the student initiative Enactus Mannheim applied with its project “Blauherz”: The goal was to develop special pants for wheelchair users, since suitable, yet affordable and stylish clothing is hard to find for them. With the prize money of the Social Project Contest, the group was able to tailor a pair of pants which soon will be produced.
2016
Macup – sustainable coffee consumption
Credit: Xenia MünsterkötterIn its first year, the Social Project Contest supported the student project “Macup”. The students of the three initatives involved wanted to reduce the waste created by to-go coffee cups on campus by providing a more sustainable alterantive. The project therefore aimed to establish a deposit system with reusable cups at the University of Mannheim. With the financial support of the Social Project Contest, the students were able to produce a prototype, designed by the Mannheim artist Nick Lobo, which since then is available at the campus shop.