Draft · For planning & partner review · Not yet public
For Faculty, Industry & Alumni

Get Involved

There's a place for you here, whatever your time allows. The Challenge runs on small, well-defined roles, each built to give students real help and a real bar to clear without asking a whole semester of anyone. Find the one that fits, from a two-hour read to opening a door.

Ways to Help

Six ways to pitch in

Each is a bounded commitment. Take a single role, or take several. People often fill more than one, and any of them can be as light as your time allows.

📋

Reviewer

Read a team's one-page concept (plus an optional visuals page) and two-minute video and score the idea against a light entry gate: is the finance problem clear, the user defined, the solution buildable? Nothing is built yet, so it's a read on the idea and the team, not a product.

A couple of hours, onceAsync from your desk. No meetings. Early fall.
🧭

Mentor & Coach

Drop in on a Friday build session to give hands-on help: feedback, unblocking the build, sanity-checking the finance, nudging the AI. Stations by expertise (finance/domain, AI & build, UX, product & pitch) so you can lend exactly what you know.

One Friday at a timeSign up for one or several, never the whole sprint. Mid-Oct to mid-Nov.

Judge

Evaluate teams on working evidence and help pick who advances, either as a standing observer across the build sprint, or on the external panel that runs the interactive demos at the fall's culmination.

A few Fridays, or one demo dayReading short project logs, or ~20-minute live demos. November.
🎤

Speaker & Podcast

Share your experience: a short talk, a reverse-pitch that shows students what “good” looks like, or a ~20-minute remote interview for the podcast series. The lowest-friction way to contribute, and often the first step into a bigger role.

About an hourOr a 20-minute remote call for the podcast. Across the fall.
💰

Sponsor

Back the Challenge with cash for prizes and events, AI and software tool credits that go straight to student teams, or in-kind support (venue, food, services, prizes). The tool-credit route is especially valuable for a vibe-coding challenge.

Minimal time, recognition in returnBest secured before launch. Spring anchor opportunities open too.
🤝

Connector

Open doors and spread the word: an introduction to a partner, sponsor, mentor, or judge, or amplification through your network and channels. A single well-placed intro can cascade into several of the roles above.

Minimal, ad hocMost valuable early, useful throughout.
Employers: sponsor a student project. Did your intern spot a real problem inside your firm? You can back the build. You name a sponsor contact and confirm up front what inputs you'll provide, then react to the product as it takes shape. If it turns out well, you may put it to work. See how Sponsored Projects work.
Alumni: the warmest welcome. Tennessee alumni can fill any of the roles listed above, and it's often the most natural way back to campus: to give back, mentor the next class, and scout talent. Whatever fits, there's an alumni version of it.

Ready to help?

Tell us which role fits and we'll take it from there. Under a minute, and checking a box is interest, not a commitment.

Raise your hand