MIT Virtual Solve Challenge Finals 2020
In September of 2020, the MIT Solve team took the Solve Challenge Finals virtual in order to continue their mission of supporting innovators solving global issues in each of their communities. Empire was inspired to work alongside MIT Solve to help produce such an important program.
Hosted by Hala Hanna, Managing Director, Community, MIT Solve, this year’s Solve Challenge Finals were held virtually on the Hopin platform, enabling guests to view programming on the main stage, host concurrent breakout sessions for working group discussions, browse information on Solver solutions, network, and more.
Programming throughout the day included a presentation by Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Co-Founder and CEO, Center for Policing Equity on the tragic case and death of Breonna Taylor, fireside chats featuring Harry D. Moseley, Global Chief Information Officer, Zoom Video Communications and Jessica Hubley, Founder & CEO, AnnieCannons discussing the pressing issue of equal opportunity in remote settings, performances by Madame Gandhi, Artist and Activist, and more.
The closing plenary was livestreamed to the Solve website and social media platforms drawing an audience of nearly 13,000 intellectuals from around the globe. The event featured special remarks by Alex Amouyel, Executive Director at MIT Solve and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women.
Finalists were chosen from over 2,000 solutions submitted for the 2020 Global Challenges, offering the selected class of 2020 Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows over $2 million in prize funding.
Sponsors included Patrick J McGovern Foundation, General Motors, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Morgridge Family Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, Vodafone Americas Foundation, The Elevate Prize, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and more.
Empire is a leading producer of virtual and digital conferences. Please contact us for more information on Virtual Events and to request a copy of the Empire Virtual Events Guide.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
