Entrepreneurialism class of 130 participates in 100-Hour Challenge

This year’s third annual 100-Hour Wiscontrepreneur Challenge has caught the attention of the university’s Entrepreneurialism in Society class.

Jeanan Yasiri, a faculty associate in the School of Human Ecology, has added the challenge as a course requirement, encouraging her students to work in small groups. All 130 of her students split into 31 teams, compared to the 17 entries the challenge received last year.

The 100-Hour Challenge invites students enrolled at UW–Madison or any two- or four-year accredited institution in the state to create a product in 100 hours with material from Surplus With a Purpose (SWAP). Three winning teams will be awarded $300 each.

“This is a marvelous way to get students to ‘stretch’ and explore how creative and innovative they really are,” Yasiri says. “A lot of the students are very intimidated at the process of having to create something from nothing. [But] the reality is that ideas and raw resources are often all we have in creating solutions to problems.”

Entrepreneurialism in Society is offered through the School of Human Ecology. The course explores entrepreneurialism in business, arts, humanities and government, as well as social entrepreneurialism.