Goodyear Innovation Challenge
Sponsored by Goodyear, in collaboration with Weatherhead School of Management

DESIGN YOUR
CAREER FUTURE WORLD

Goodyear Innovation Challenge

A business design and innovation competition sponsored by Goodyear, in collaboration with Weatherhead School of Management

THE CHALLENGE

The Goodyear Innovation Challenge is a business design and innovation competition sponsored by Goodyear in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Master's degree students and ambitious undergraduate students with a zeal for intrapreneurship, design, and business innovation from across the United States are invited to unleash their creativity while addressing real-world business challenges. The top five teams will compete for prize money in a virtual hackathon culminating in a competition where they will pitch ideas to Goodyear executives.

DESIGN

Develop a compelling solution to a complex challenge

COMPETE

Prove your skills at a 4-day design hackathon

WIN

Cash prizes and the opportunity to interview at Goodyear

RULES FOR PARTICIPATION

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Current students over the age of 18 who are pursuing a master's degree in any discipline in the United States. Multiple teams from the same university may participate. Undergraduates with significant experience in lean startup, human centered design, data science, or graphic design will be considered.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

STEP ONE: TEAM INFO
Submit names and contact info of 4-5 team members. Multidisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged!

STEP TWO: DOWNLOAD BRIEF and craft proposal according problem description and instructions.

STEP THREE: SUBMIT PROPOSAL
Submit one proposal per team via email to designchallenge@case.edu. Only one proposal per team!

STEP FOUR: HACKATHON
Top five teams will be invited to a 4-day virtual hackathon, working with Goodyear Innovation Lab associates for a $5000, $2500, or $1000 cash prize.

TIMELINE

December 1:
Brief is released
December 2 to January 31:
Submit team information on website
February 1:
Deadline to submit proposals to designchallenge@case.edu
February 8:
Invitations sent for virtual hackathon to top five teams
February 22 to March 3:
Virtual Hackathon spread across four sessions with ample opportunity for feedback, culminating in pitch competition with Goodyear leaders for the prize money.

STEP 1: APPLY

Submit your team information.

First Name Last Name Email School Program Year in Program
Team Lead
Team Member 1
Team Member 2
Team Member 3
Team Member 4
Team Lead is the person who will be the primary contact for all Challenge communications. If you have less than five people on your team, it's ok! Submit a proposal! You may be joined with other people if invited to the hackathon in order to create a full team.

Does your school have a design, entrepreneurship, or innovation club or student organization? If so, please provide the folowing information:

YOU MUST READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE CHALLENGE BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN THE CHALLENGE. BY CLICKING ON THE “I AGREE” BUTTON OF THE CHALLENGE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CHALLENGE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CHALLENGE, THEN YOU SHOULD EXIT THIS PAGE AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHALLENGE. GOODYEAR MAY AMEND THE TERMS OF THE CHALLENGE AT ANY TIME, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, UPON NOTICE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ELECTRONIC NOTICE) TO PARTICIPANTS. YOU HEREBY AGREE AS FOLLOWS: By clicking ‘I agree’ below, I acknowledge that I have read this agreement and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions.  

Submissions are now closed.

STEP 2: READ BRIEF

THE BRIEF

Download 2020 Challenge Brief

STEP 3: SUBMIT PROPOSAL

E-mail your proposal in PDF format to designchallenge@case.edu by February 1.

STEP 4: THE VIRTUAL HACKATHON

February 22 - March 3, 2021

4-day session

Four short virtual sessions will take place over one week for the top 5 teams. During these sessions participants will interact with Goodyear's Innovation team for framing and feedback as they develop prototypes, business models, and prepare their pitches. This follows the 1.5-day structure of the past four years, but breaks it up to allow for more time for students to work on their concepts.

A jury consisting of Design and Innovation Leaders from Goodyear will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners who will win $5000, $2500, and $1000 respectively.

There will also be opportunities to explore internships and full-time positions at Goodyear’s New Ventures team and Innovation Labs. Interested participants can apply now at this link: Goodyear New Ventures Intern Summer 2021

Agenda

Day 1 - Monday - February 22, 2021
Welcome and Introductions 11 a.m. - noon
Initial feedback sessions noon - 1 p.m.
Intro to prototyping for user need validation 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Day 2 - Tuesday - February 23, 2021
Virtual prototyping and testing session 11 a.m. - noon
Business Model Innovation session noon - 1 p.m.
Feedback and Q+A time with Goodyear Mentors 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Day 3 - Monday - March 1, 2021
Business model feedback time 11 a.m. - noon
Pitch practice with Goodyear Mentors 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Day 3.5 - Tuesday - March 2, 2021
Mentors check ins 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Day 4 – Wednesday - March 3, 2021
Presentations to Goodyear Innovation Leaders 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Break 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Awards 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

PRIZES

What will they win, Bob?

First Place $5,000
Second Place $2,500
Third Place $1,000

Check out photos from past challenges

Participants, mentors and judges from the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Innovation Challenge

Students use think[box] equipment to prototype their concepts, empathize with real users, and formulate their pitch of their final concept.

Frequently Asked Questions

You've got questions, we've got answers

The Goodyear Innovation Challenge will be a virtual event this year due to Covid-19.
Participants in the Goodyear Innovation Challenge who apply for the internship position will be offered an interview. Those internship applicants who are not part of the final 5 teams will be evaluated for interviews on a case-by-case basis. By all means, apply! Here's the link: Goodyear New Ventures Intern Summer 2021
No, only one proposal per team is allowed.
Please direct your questions or concerns to designchallenge@case.edu.

Toolbox

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the resources below as you work on your proposal and prepare for the hackathon. They will help you get outside the box towards the creative problem-solving mode, combining business thinking with design thinking and lean startup mentalities.

Goodyear's Latest Innovations