Turning clunkers into hybrids and powering Tanzanian villages with rechargeable batteries are just a couple of the ideas to come out of Knowledge at Wharton’s second annual Innovation Tournament. Sponsored jointly by Knowledge at Wharton and Wipro Technologies, the tournament challenged innovators from around the world to compete for a total of $40,000 in cash prizes.
The top 14 submissions were invited to Philadelphia on April 27 to present their ideas to a panel of judges made up of academics and industry leaders. After the winners were announced, Knowledge at Wharton interviewed the victors in each category and the grand prize winner:
Best new customer-centric innovation: L3, a new video encryption technology, represented by Anil Gupte:
Best new sustainability innovation: Welectricity, a social networking site that encourages energy savings, represented by Herbert Samuel:
Best implemented customer-centric innovation: WiseWindow, a data service that collects, sorts and displays customized business intelligence in real time, represented by Alex Costakis:
Best implemented sustainability innovation: Revolo, a process that converts old automobiles into hybrids, represented by Rajeev Kulkarni:
Grand prize winner: EGG-energy, a battery swapping service in Tanzania, represented by Rhonda Jordan:
Check out Knowledge at Wharton Wednesday for more coverage of the Innovation Tournament.
