The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Announces New Global Education Program at the Clinton Global Initiative

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) today announced the launch of the Global Innovation Initiative (GII), a program designed to support Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) educators and students in solving the problems of global poverty in environmentally and economically sustainable ways. Focusing especially on STEM Education, the NCIIA and its partners seek to identify and train the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs in countries where these opportunities are not widely available.

Armed with fifteen years of experience working with U.S.-based student entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize products and technology that address needs in global health, clean water, sustainable energy and consumer technology, the NCIIA will build a network of more than 100 universities around the world to train and equip the next generation of STEM students to stimulate the development and distribution of innovative scalable products and businesses. The Global Innovation Initiative will impact universities in countries in Africa, Asia, Central North and South America.

NCIIA's $9.5 million commitment was announced this morning during CGI's Enhancing Access to Modern Technology Plenary.

"The excitement around this program demonstrates that there is an increasing embrace of science and technology as the driver of opportunity to create market-based solutions that help address critical global challenges," said Phil Weilerstein, Executive Director of the NCIIA. "There is a growing appreciation that creating the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs is the key to solving these problems."

Launched with a $1 million cornerstone commitment by The Lemelson Foundation, a Portland, OR-based philanthropy that supports inventors, invention and innovation at every stage, an additional $8.5 million will be raised through partnerships, grants and additional fundraising over the next two years.

About the NCIIA:

The NCIIA achieves positive and sustainable social and environmental impact through technological innovation by providing end-to-end service grants, mentoring and other experiential resources to higher education institutions. With support from The Lemelson Foundation, the National Science Foundation and a membership of nearly 200 colleges and universities from all over the United States, the NCIIA engages more than 5,000 student entrepreneurs each year, leveraging their respective campuses as working laboratories and incubators for businesses and ultimately helping them to bring their concepts to commercialization. For more information, please visit http://www.nciia.org.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI):

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 125 current and former heads of state, 15 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made more than 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion, which have already improved the lives of 220 million people in more than 170 countries. The CGI community also includes CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make a Commitment to Action, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young leaders from business, government, and civil society. For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.

SOURCE NCIIA