"Having an online component this year worked really well for us", says Dr. Stephen Hodges, president of Hult International Business School. "It's a reflection of what this competition is all about - innovation. The unique aspect is that it gave us the opportunity to tap into a much broader community because it allowed anyone to vote for the solution they liked best. We congratulate Cambridge University on their win and look forward to having them join the five regional winners in NYC in a few weeks."

The virtual competition, which allowed followers to vote for the best solution via Facebook, consisted of individuals as well as teams of up to five members who were able to submit online their ideas and solutions to accelerate clean water access and sanitation around the world. Applicants who had already applied to the challenge but were not selected to one of the physical regional locations in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, or Shanghai also qualified to participate.

"Three of the regional runner-ups submitted entries and were all among the top vote getters. A common theme consistent among the top entries was the use of a catalytic philanthropy model, which utilizes commercial capital to create sustainable solutions", says Ahmad Ashkar, Founder of the Hult Global Case Challenge. "Our pioneering innovation platform has unlimited reach as we continue to seek out solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges."

The online winner will now join the five regional winners at the Global Final in New York City on 28 April, where one team's solution will be selected by a world-class panel of business executive judges. They will compete for the $1 million prize, which will be made available to Water.org, and the opportunity to meet ex-President Bill Clinton.


The six teams competing in the Global Final in NYC include:

Online: University of Cambridge (London)

Boston: Boston University's School of Management (Massachusetts)

San Francisco: Stanford University's Graduate School of Business (California)

London: University of Belgrade's Faculty of Organizational Sciences (Serbia)

Dubai: SDA Bocconi's School of Management (Milan)

Shanghai: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (China)