Google pledges $3 mil for grad program at Singularity University

• Google becomes a title sponsor of Singularity University (SU) to support SU Graduate Studies Program (GSP)
• New agreement ensures a diverse selection of qualified applicants are guaranteed a place in the GSP program, regardless of their ability to pay
• First in a series of SU announcements to eliminate economic, ethnic, gender, and multi-generational barriers that persist in the technology sector

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — Singularity University (SU), the technology-focused education institute and global business accelerator has announced a new multi-million dollar agreement with Google aimed at breaking down barriers to technology innovation by creating opportunities for a more diverse group of entrepreneurs from around the world.

Through the agreement, Google will provide $1.5 million annually for the next two years to help fund qualified and selected candidates to SU’s flagship Graduate Studies Program (GSP) – a 10-week immersive experience that educates and empowers the best minds to use exponential technologies to solve the world’s greatest challenges. While SU’s sponsored Global Impact Competitions (GIC) winners will continue to comprise a substantial portion of the GSP class, the new Google funding will enable SU to also make the remaining seats in the program available free of charge to direct applicants. GSP participants are engaged in twelve tracks of exponential technology development and mentored by leaders and investors in the technology sector with the focus of abating poverty and creating innovative solutions in the areas of clean energy, water, education, security, and healthcare.

Applications are now open for the 2015 Graduate Studies Program through SU’s Direct Admission online application: http://apply2015.singularityu.org/

“The new agreement with Google is an incredibly important pillar in our efforts to increase global access and diversity for qualified candidates, regardless of their ability to pay,” said Rob Nail, CEO and Associate Founder of Singularity University. “As a graduate of an SU program, I can speak first-hand to the life-changing experience SU offers in inspiring thinking about how technology can improve the lives of billions. Google’s support will further help to break down barriers of access to the Silicon Valley network of technologists, business leaders, and investors.”

Google has long understood the importance of breaking down barriers to be active participants in the creation of technology. “At Google, we believe in the power of access, and we work with organizations to create broad and diverse communities to be change agents,” said Mo Fong, Director of Google’s education outreach programs.

Sample Graduate Studies Program Success Stories

Bibak, a team of women from #GSP14, made a pledge to ensure that every person living in a post-conflict area should live a life free from the ever-present fear of landmines. This team, with members from Italy, Australia and Peru created the Bibak “podtector”, an effective and inexpensive landmine detector that can be assembled on site and delivered in a way that is sustainable, coordinated, and community-led.
More at: http://vimeo.com/104347651

Hivematic. When we think of the fragility of ecosystems, we often think of the decline of fish stocks or large predators, but it is the decline of the lowly bee that could have the greatest impact on humankind with the total number of managed honey bee colonies now decimated from 5 million in the 1940s to less than 2.5 million today. A #GSP13 team project created a smart beehive monitoring system with real-time optimization of hive conditions, thus reducing the risk of colony failure.
More at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UobjSw-y1lQ

Matternet, a team project from #GSP11, had the vision to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to ferry medicine and other goods to remote places, such as rural villages in Africa where people often have to walk 20 miles or more to a clinic to receive treatments as simple as blood tests or pills. With Matternet, UAVs will carry the payloads for a substantially lower cost than ground transportation.
More at: http://matternet.us/

Blue Oak. Priv Bradoo first considered the idea of extracting valuable metals (copper, silver, platinum, etc.) from discarded electronics (e-waste) at #GSP09. Since then, the company has grown exponentially and now uses existing scaled-up mining industry technologies to capture value from the 40 million tons of e-waste that is landfilled or incinerated annually around the world, containing 70 billion dollars worth of precious and base metals.
More at: http://blueoakresources.com/

Miroculus, a #GSP13 team project, has brought to life an accurate, easy to use, non-invasive, decentralized, operator-independent and affordable microRNA detection platform for molecular data gathering, analysis and interpretation.
More at: http://miroculus.com/

About the Graduate Studies Program

The Graduate Studies Program (GSP) convenes future leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world in a 10-week collaborative experience to develop team-based technology solutions to widespread global challenges. During the GSP, participants are challenged to design a sustainable global solution to positively impact one billion people by leveraging exponential trends, innovation, and the power of entrepreneurship.

About Singularity University

Singularity University’s (SU) mission is to educate, inspire and empower a generation of leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges. Since 2009, SU has hosted entrepreneurs, industry leaders and government officials from more than 85 countries and has prepared both individuals and organizations for exponential technology changes through a series of events, conferences and education programs. SU’s Founding Corporate Partners include Genentech, Autodesk, Cisco, ePlanet Ventures, Google, Kauffman Foundation and Nokia.
To learn more, visit www.singularityu.org