Deloitte Launches Fellowship Program with the XPRIZE Foundation

NEW YORK, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte and the XPRIZE Foundation, the global leader in the creation of incentivized prize competitions, have formed a new multi-year strategic alliance and launched a new fellowship program. Through the fellowship program, Deloitte will commit a team of full-time professionals on a pro bono basis to work with XPRIZE.

Fellows will support XPRIZE in its mission to drive radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity thereby inspiring the formation of new industries and the revitalization of markets, and will collaborate with XPRIZE to develop new models for stimulating increased corporate social responsibility. The fellowship team will act as an 'innovation catalyst" for XPRIZE to help drive the design, experimentation, incubation, and rollout of new concepts, methods, and models of crowd-sourced incentivized prize competitions.

"We are excited about our growing relationship with Deloitte, and very appreciative to have access to their talented consultants through the fellowship program," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of XPRIZE. "With Deloitte's contribution we will have a constant stream of new perspectives and ideas that will help XPRIZE continuously innovate our models in pursuit of our mission of taking on the world's grandest challenges," he continued.

Deloitte professionals will be selected into the fellowship program based on an internal nomination and application process. With skills ranging from strategic advisory and technology innovation, to research and data analysis, the fellows will work with an integrated XPRIZE team and ecosystem that can include sponsors and donors, competitor prize teams, and some of the world's leading innovators and entrepreneurs.

"This program is exciting on many levels," said Marcus Shingles, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and a leader in Deloitte's innovation group. "In addition to deepening our relationship with XPRIZE and applying our consulting experience to help them innovate and drive positive social outcomes, we also anticipate that our professionals will bring that knowledge back to our clients to make an impact on their corporate social responsibility initiatives. 

Shingles continued, "We're also giving our consultants the chance to use their business skills to help create social change. Today's professionals want to work for organizations that nurture innovative thinking and have a positive influence on society – this program helps to meet that demand."  The annual Deloitte Touche Tohamatsu Limited Millennial survey found that Millennials, who will comprise 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025, want to work for organizations that foster innovative thinking, develop their skills, and make a positive contribution to society.

The fellowship program represents an expansion to the existing relationship between Deloitte and the XPRIZE Foundation that was originally announced in March 2013.

To learn more, please visit www.deloitte.com/us/xprize.

About Deloitte Consulting LLP
Deloitte Consulting LLP helps organizations grow their businesses and enhance value by identifying actionable insights. More than 23,000 professionals provide a broad range of capabilities across human capital, strategy & operations and technology that are aligned to the particular needs of specific sectors, businesses and organizations. Deloitte provides clients with leading business insights that can help generate a tangible and measurable impact.

About XPRIZE
Founded in 1995, XPRIZE is the leading organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions in five areas: Learning; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, and the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE. For more information, go to www.xprize.org, or join the conversation on Facebook.com/XPRIZE or @XPRIZE on Twitter. 

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

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SOURCE Deloitte