UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Accelerator Rap Challenge, hosted by The Cape at Penn State, is challenging university students around the United States to create short, educational, animated music videos to help 8-12-year-old girls and children of color see themselves in innovative and entrepreneurial careers.
A total of $3,500 in prizes is available, and winning entries also will be featured in a film festival hosted by the Penn State Arts and Design Research Incubator in spring 2022. Teams must register to compete, and the deadline to submit entries is 7 p.m. on Feb. 28. All submissions must be created by teams of 2-5 people who are enrolled at the undergraduate level in a United States academic institution.
“The Accelerator Rap Challenge engages undergraduate students who wouldn’t necessarily see themselves in entrepreneurial careers,” said Betsy Campbell, Accelerator Rap Challenge organizer and assistant professor in the College of Education. “It awakens them to what entrepreneurial work really is and how they can be leaders of high-growth, innovative organizations.”
The finale and awards presentation will take place during Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC, occurring at 7 p.m. on April 4. Videos, which must be less than two minutes long, are judged on their musical and lyrical artistry, clarity of entrepreneurial concept, educational merit, visual artistry, and inclusive spirit of the contest.
Leading up to the Feb. 28 submission deadline, there will be virtual events including “ask me anything” sessions with Accelerator Rap Challenge judges.
The judges for the 2022 contest are “Prince” Charles Alexander, a multiple Grammy Award winner from Berklee School of Music; Bill Aulet, the leader of the MIT Trust Center for Entrepreneurship; Milton Chen, former president of the George Lucas Educational Foundation; Monica Lago-Kaytis, the co-founder of Rise Up Animation; and Campbell.
“Women, people of color, people with disabilities, as well as people in rural locations are underrepresented throughout the innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Campbell said. “There is also a misperception that innovative entrepreneurship is only for people with expertise in business or engineering. The Accelerator Rap Challenge provides a fresh way to change the demographics. In the near term, it encourages undergraduates to build inclusive organizations and step into leadership roles in the creator economy. In the long term, the videos created can inspire girls and children of color to lead organizations in the future.”
Events, which are all virtual, over the next month include:
- "Ask Me Anything" with judge Monica Lago-Kaytis on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.
- Virtual Team-Building Mixer, where students from different schools can meet each other and find teammates, on Jan. 31 from 6-7 p.m.
- "Ask Me Anything" with judge Betsy Campbell on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
- Submission celebration on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
Between the submission deadline and the finale, registered teams will be invited to additional events focused specifically on the creator economy. Students will learn about nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and how to use their creative skills in the context of Web3 and the metaverse.
The Accelerator Rap Challenge is a national contest open to all undergraduates in the United States and is based on the course that won the 2020 Academy of Management Innovation in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy award. The challenge provides an opportunity for undergraduates to engage in active learning about diversity and differentiate themselves by creating a video that demonstrates their understanding of entrepreneurship and sensitivity to matters of inclusion. Selected videos will be made available as open-source learning materials for K-12 settings, afterschool programs, and families.
For more information and a full list of rules and criteria, visit the Accelerator Rap Challenge website.
About The Cape at Penn State
The Community Advancing Pluralism in Entrepreneurship (CAPE) at Penn State is a national initiative dedicated to exploring, understanding, and supporting the development of an inclusive innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem. A diverse, interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, technologists, policy experts, and advocates, The Cape tackles the challenges of democratizing innovative entrepreneurship by honoring the perspectives and imperatives of both research and practice. Its faculty and affiliates conduct research, build tools and platforms, educate others, and support conversations across boundaries.