Compassion Driving Innovation: Meet the Global Student Challenge Winners

Winners of the 2024 Global Student Challenge
Listen

Preventing dangerous falls among seniors. Crafting sustainable and affordable 3D-built homes. The 2024 winners of the Babson Collaborative Global Student Challenge, a global contest that challenges undergraduate and graduate students to think of impactful business concepts, are paving the way for a higher quality of life for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Each year, students across the Babson Collaborative member schools are asked to create a positive change through business. These students create and present a new business venture, designed to directly address the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A total of 2,990 students from 28 Collaborative member institutions took part in the 2024 Global Student Challenge, representing 21 countries, breaking records in all categories. Collectively, they presented 800 new business concepts addressing the U.N. Global Goals. Both undergraduate and graduate Challenge winners are then invited to Babson’s campus, where they further advance their venture using the resources available at Babson Build, a weeklong summer entrepreneurship bootcamp.

In addition to the Babson Build scholarship, this year’s winners received an award of $2,500, thanks to the sponsorship of Social Impact Patrons, Ramón Mendiola ’86, P’20 ’21 ’23, Sage Business, and Babson Global Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Patrons also sponsor cash prizes for runner-up teams between $1,500 and $2,000.

Get to know more about this year’s winners and their ventures:

Undergraduate Winner: NatureSole

In Ignacio Gordillo Juan’s and Antonio López López’s home country of Spain, there are roughly 223,000 serious falls among elderly people each year, 80% of which happen in their own homes. Juan and López from EDEM Business School founded NatureSole with the aim of creating a shoe worn in the home that could reduce the risks of fall-based injury while also helping older populations remain independent for longer.

Juan and López pulled from their expertise in the footwear industry to create a shoe that could be easily customizable. The shoe features a removable insert that enables doctors to modify the shoe with custom orthotics based on the wearer’s unique needs.

“For us, having the opportunity to pass different rounds internationally has proven that NatureSole has a bright future if we keep pushing the project,” Juan and López said. “It is a huge validation and recognition for our next steps.”

Undergraduate Runners-up

2nd place: Harvested Robotics (Mahindra University, India). Team members: Sai Phani Rahul Arepaka, Pranav Mogli, Nitesh Reddy, Atin Sakeer, Sanjay Pramod, George Mathew

3rd place (tie): NOVA land (Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Ecuador). Team members: María José Cabrera Quizhpe, Amanda Kaola Riofrio Macas, Ramiro David Berrú Ortiz

3rd place (tie): Extrive Innovations (Mahindra University, India). Team members: Abhishek Pratap, Ronak Oinam, Prem Ningombam, Yashaswi Matla

Graduate Winner: Wasi 3D

Nearly 40% of the world’s global population will need access to adequate housing by 2030. However, as it stands, roughly 80% of cities worldwide lack affordable housing opportunities to support their current populations.

Elinore Cruz, Diego de La Torre Lostaunau, and Álvaro Valarezo of the EAE Business School in Spain aim to revolutionize the construction industry and increase the availability of affordable housing globally by introducing accessible and affordable 3D-printed houses.

“Democratizing affordable housing is our goal as a company and as individuals, and we believe that this milestone is a significant and important step toward our journey of becoming a company that inspires the world to build more efficiently and sustainably,” de La Torre Lostaunau said.

Graduate Runnner-up

2nd place: H2nOt (EAE Business School, Spain). Team members: Alegría Vásconez, Daniel Mesa Gómez

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Community »

Latest Stories

A woman points to a presentation in a meeting
Why Analytical Thinking Is the Cornerstone of Strategic Business Decisions Business decisions are rarely simple. Analytical thinking is critical for leaders to identify and navigate the options in front of an organization, so it’s important to develop analytical thinking skills in order to make smart decisions.
By
October 7, 2025

Posted in Insights

a row of electricity meters
The Price of Power: What’s Driving Rising Electricity Rates? Electricity rates have been steadily increasing. Ryan Davies, a Babson professor of finance, unpacks the many reasons for that, including the massive data centers popping up across the country.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
September 30, 2025

Posted in Insights

The Babson community and mascot celebrate at the Roger Babson statue last year
No. 2 Again: Wall Street Journal Ranks Babson the No. 2 Best College for the Second Year in a Row For the second year in a row, The Wall Street Journal ranked Babson as the No. 2 Best College in the United States, lauding the College for its impressive impact on student outcomes.
By
Eric Beato
Editor / Writer
Eric Beato
Eric Beato is the Editor of Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Eric has worked as an editor and writer at newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Boston Herald. Eric joined Babson College in 2019 after working as the communications director for a private educational travel company and as the managing editor of six regional sports publications.
September 29, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Insights, Outcomes