Fernando M. Reimers et al.

emerging technologies might help address the challenge. Students make an
oral presentation to the rest of the class.

Activity TIG.4.3

Technology and Innovation for All: The XPRIZE

The teacher will lead the class in a discussion of the XPRIZE, a process to
stimulate innovation that capitalizes on the ability of relatively small groups
of individuals to address significant social challenges using knowledge and
technology. The teacher will present the XPRIZE Foundation and the
XCHALLENGE, its origins, and its applications to finding innovative solu-

tions to space travel and oil cleanup.
Students will answer the following questions:

1. What is the value of competition as a process to stimulate innovation?

2. Why can small groups of people produce new designs that until
recently could only feasibly be produced by large corporations and
governments?

3. What are the downsides of providing economic rewards only to the
winners of the competitions?

4. What challenges are more likely to be solved using approaches such
as the XCHALLENGE, and what challenges are less likely to be
solved by similar approaches? Why?

5. What XPRIZE Foundation competitions are currently open? Could
the students imagine participating in one of those competitions?
What would they need to do in order to produce a competitive
design?

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