The Institute for Emerging Issues is calling on North Carolinians to vote for the winners of the second annual Emerging Issues Prize for Innovation. The two winning teams – one from the high school age category and one from the college age category – will each receive $5,000, which will be used to put their ideas into action.

The winning teams will be announced on February 7 at the Emerging Issues Forum, where more than 1,000 of the state’s leaders will gather in Raleigh to learn more about this generation, and discuss their effect on our state, our workforce, and our economic competitiveness.

This year’s Emerging Issues Prize for Innovation challenged North Carolina students to unleash their creativity and work collaboratively to come up with an innovative way to increase the state’s high school graduation rate.

Nearly 70 teams of high school and college students from across the state – east to west, rural to urban, from both public and private institutions – submitted innovative ideas to help friends, classmates, and peers attain the foundation for earning a living wage, a high school diploma.

Of these submissions, five teams from both high school and college categories were announced as finalists in December.

High school finalist teams:

● “Operation Don’t Quit” from East Burke High School

● “A.I.M.” from Greene Central High School

● “Step Up” from Jordan Lake School of the Arts

● “Studio Lounge” from Richmond Senior High School

● “Kindles for Second Graders” from Stanly Early College

College finalist teams:

● “IGNITE” from Duke University

● “Open Hardware Makerspace” from NC State University

● “LinkedUp” from UNC-Greensboro

● “S.T.E.N.C.I.L.” from UNC-Chapel Hill

● “Digital Story Telling” from UNC-Wilmington and N.C. A&T State University

Voting ends on Monday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. at http://www.ncsu.edu/iei/index.php/news-events/emerging-issues-prize-for-innovation.

Individuals can view short videos created by the finalists, and then vote for the idea they think has the most potential in each age category. Individuals are allowed to cast one vote per email address for each age category.

The Institute for Emerging Issues is a public policy organization dedicated to North Carolina’s future competitiveness. By supporting collaboration among individuals from all sectors and areas of the state, IEI builds an enduring capacity for progress. Learn more at: www.emergingissues.org