Modesto Junior College has launched a groundbreaking initiative to address chronic and new challenges faced by the community called Solve Community Challenges (SolveCC). SolveCC is a new initiative under the umbrella of the college’s new Applied Creativity and Community Transformation (ACCT) Institute.
“At Modesto Junior College (MJC) we know we are one of the important places where learners of all ages and backgrounds can ‘learn by doing’ and can find their passions, come up with big ideas, and put those ideas to work,” said Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., President of Modesto Junior College. “This initiative will connect students, MJC faculty, and our whole community to solve problems, big and small, together.”
The ACCT Institute through the SolveCC Challenges provides a platform for guiding learners as they conceptualize, plan, design and implement their big ideas in the community. The SolveCC Challenges ask teams, which include MJC student(s), to define urgent problems in their communities, and propose a solution.
There are cash prizes and further professional mentorship opportunities available for teams chosen at a Nov. 18, 2022 SolveCC Showcase at the MJC Main Auditorium.
• $2,500 to identify and develop an overview of a pressing community problem (will be placed in the Problem Bank)
• $5,000 to help fund implementation of a plan to solve a problem from the Problem Bank
• $10,000 to help fund a solution to a community problem your team has identified
“MJC student-led teams have identified urgent community problems from food insecurity, the local impacts of the climate crisis, violence against vulnerable groups and a variety of inequalities to challenges faced by seasonal workers, increases in homelessness, the need for improvements in public education and a need for more civility in society,” added Dr. Bandyopadhyay.
ACCT developed the SolveCC initiative in partnership with Enovant Foundation. This initiative provides MJC students, many of whom are the first in their family to go to college and are juggling college while working, with a new education in entrepreneurship. Not just learning how to be an entrepreneur, but how to be a creative, problem solver that brings ideas to life. In the spirit of achieving MJC’s mission of creating and promoting equity in education for every member of the area’s diverse community, the public is invited to participate in this groundbreaking initiative.
“With chronic challenges plaguing our communities and new challenges that have emerged since the pandemic, our collective expertise and resources are needed more than ever before, and so is engagement from the entire community we serve. So, if you see or hear from an MJC student asking you about the most urgent issues we face, share your ideas and support them in their active learning journey,” concluded Dr. Bandyopadhyay.
