UNH Sustainability Alumni Webinar & SVIC Awards

Wednesday, December 06, 2023 - noon to 1 p.m.

Online

The Role of Entrepreneurs in Building a Sustainable Future &
NH Social Venture Innvation Challenge Awards

December 6, 12-1 p.m. EST (virtual)

REGISTER

 

This month’s webinar is a special edition, focusing on the pivotal role that innovators and entrepreneurs play in addressing some of the world’s most complex and pressing problems. You will hear from Dr. Paige Balcom '16, Co-Founder, Co-CEO and CTO of Takataka Plastics, as well as have a ringside seat for the announcement of the winners of the 2023 UNH Social Venture Innovation Challenge (SVIC) and learn about the range of exciting concepts developed by some of UNH’s most passionate and talented students. Paige has been named the 2023 Social Innovator of the Year by the University of New Hampshire. The award is among the university’s most prestigious, recognizing leaders with a demonstrated commitment to combining the purpose of a social and/or environmental mission with the rigor and accountability of a financially sustainable, scalable model for change. 

 
Paige’s award as Social Innovator of the Year is especially meaningful as the Londonderry, NH native was a 2015 SVIC winner, part of an interdisciplinary team, Project OASIS, who presented the idea to provide families with fresh vegetables and fish-based protein by developing a low cost, easily maintainable aquaponics system that runs on renewable energy. Paige graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2016, and has been making impact ever since. 

 

This is the ultimate “inspiration prescription” – an hour guaranteed to give us all hope amid the dark days of winter!

 

About Paige

A Londonderry, NH native and 2015 SVIC winner, Paige graduated with her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 2016. She is now Co-Founder, Co-CEO, and CTO of Takataka Plastics, a Ugandan social enterprise locally recycling plastic waste and creating jobs for vulnerable youth. Paige holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley where she focused on Energy Science and Technology & Development Engineering. She has a deep passion to use engineering and entrepreneurship to create jobs and help improve people’s lives. Paige is also a lecturer at Gulu University in Uganda.

 

Paige pitched on Shark Tank and has received several fellowships and awards including those from the National Science Foundation, UC Berkeley, Fulbright Program, USAID, the Institute of International Education, and the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.

 

The UNH Alumni Sustainability Webinar Series is a partnership of UNH’s Sustainability Institute and Alumni Relations.


DEC Alumni Webinar 1080x1080.jpg