Mountain View, CA (June 9, 2015) — Singularity University, the Silicon Valley educational institute and business accelerator, will officially open the 2015 Global Solutions Program (GSP) on June 15. The Class of 2015 will include 80 participants from more than 40 nations, and for the first time in its seven-year history, will be comprised of a majority of women.
For 10 weeks this summer, these future global leaders will be immersed in an unparalleled learning environment focused on identifying and employing new technologies to find solutions to humanity’s Grand Challenges. At the end of the 10-week program, participants develop 10⁹+ Team Projects with the mission of positively impacting the lives of a billion people around the globe
Participants for the GSP are selected through direct application or by virtue of winning one of SU’s Global Impact Competitions (GIC), which act as a global platform to identify outstanding applicants with the most innovative ideas for positively impacting millions of lives. In 2015, there were 26 GIC winners. All GSP participants attend tuition-free, thanks to GIC sponsors and a generous grant from Google, provided earlier in 2015.
“In 2015, we worked hard to bring a more diverse group of entrepreneurs into our flagship GSP summer program,” said CEO Rob Nail. “With 53 percent women and nine new nations, including three in Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and increased representation from Asia, Singularity University is becoming truly global in its impact.”
Opening Ceremonies and Speakers
Opening ceremonies will be held at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA, at 6pm. Speakers include Singularity University co-founders Ray Kurzweil and Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, and CEO Rob Nail.
Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of Yunus Social Business, will deliver the keynote. Professor Yunus is the father of both social business and microcredit, founder of Grameen Bank and more than 50 other companies in Bangladesh. Fortune Magazine wrote that Dr. Yunus is “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time,” and the Wharton School of Business said he is one of “the 25 most influential business persons of the past 25 years.” In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr Yunus is one of only seven individuals to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, US Presidential Medal of Freedom and US Congressional Gold Medal.
Media is invited to attend a special reception for Dr. Yunus, and the founders and the executives of Singularity University on June 15 at 5pm (PT). To receive an invitation and RSVP, contact Diane Murphy at diane@singularityu.org.
ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY
Singularity University (SU) is a benefit corporation headquartered at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley. SU provides educational programs, innovative partnerships and startup accelerator through SU Labs, with the goal of impacting more than a billion people worldwide. From its inception in 2008, SU has empowered individuals from more than 93 countries to apply exponentially growing technologies—artificial intelligence & robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology & digital fabrication, networks & computing systems and medicine & neuroscience—to address humanity’s grand challenges: education, energy, environment, food, global health, prosperity, disasters, governance, security, space and water. To learn more, visit www.singularityu.org.
Media Contact: Diane Murphy ( diane@singularityu.org); Tel: 1.310.658.8756
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