Destination Imagination Global Finals Returning to Knoxville
World's largest celebration of student creativity to return to Knoxville, Tennessee for sixteenth consecutive year
World's largest celebration of student creativity to return to Knoxville, Tennessee for sixteenth consecutive year
CHERRY HILL, N.J., Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Imagination (DI), a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching students the creative process through hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and arts challenges, will host Global Finals 2016 from May 25-28 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The Global Finals event is the world's largest celebration of creativity and is the culminating international competition for the Destination Imagination season. At this year's event, 8,000 of the most creative students around the world will showcase their innovative solutions to this season's challenges, including the skills that will help them meet the demands of our ever-changing world.
"The global economy of the 21st century will provide an ever-expanding array of opportunities, including challenges, for today's learners," said Dr. Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. "Through Destination Imagination, students not only learn the process required to help meet the challenges of the future but also the skills necessary to thrive in it."
Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament, where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers, ranging from educators to artists to engineers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the affiliate (state or country) tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the affiliate tournaments advance to Global Finals.
With the continual creation of new jobs in new industries, it is projected that roughly 15.7 million new project management jobs will be in existence by 2020 in seven project intensive industries. Keeping the growing demand for project management in mind, Destination Imagination structured its activities and challenges to better prepare youth for these future positions through scholarships and developing young minds with the appropriate tools and lessons to succeed.
Global Finals 2016 is expected to match the record setting year of 2015, with more than 1,400 teams scheduled to be in attendance. While the United States' teams comprise the majority of the Global Finals 2016 participants, student teams from countries such as Canada, China, Mexico, Poland, Turkey and Qatar will also be competing.
"The creative process is universal," said Cadle. "We are ecstatic to give more than 8,000 students a once-in-life-time experience where they can showcase their solutions and 21st century skills with students from around the world."
The University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus will play host to Destination Imagination's Global Finals for a sixteenth consecutive year, bringing with it nearly $30 million in revenue for the University of Tennessee and Knoxville area businesses.
For more information about Global Finals or for the full agenda, visit http://globalfinals.org.
About Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) volunteer-led non-profit organization whose purpose is to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. The most popular education offering is the Challenge Program, where student teams solve open-ended STEM, arts and service learning Challenges and present their solutions to trained Appraisers. Founded in 1982, Destination Imagination has impacted more than 1.5 million students. To learn more, please visit http://destinationimagination.org.
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SOURCE Destination Imagination
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