The Tech Navigator Challenge is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a New Mexico higher education institution.

The Tech Navigator Challenge is offered once a year typically in the second-half of the spring semester.

Yes this is an open competition there are no prerequisites or prior knowledge needed to participate.

This is a team competition so it will require at least two students however we can always assign you to a team if you apply as an individual. In rare circumstances when a team member drops out of the competition we will allow an individual to continue to compete alone.

Since this competition requires a great amount of research and work we will award students three credit hours for participating. All you need to do contact Rebecca Rodriguez directly at rjrodriguez@unm.edu and let her know your UNM ID number and she will provide you an override into MGMT 490-012 Innovation Academy Idea Incubator. Traditionally this class is designed as an independent study course to give students credit for working on their business idea but we have expanded it to also give credit to those who are participating in the Tech Navigator Challenge.

We would consider it as much as a typical elective three-credit-hour course in a shorter timeframe. We have had many students who are taking a full load of undergraduate or graduate courses participate in the past but of course their work load varies. The kickoff is March 24th when the students will be assigned their technologies and team (students can also create their own team of at least two students) and they will have four weeks to create their plan and present it on April 21st.

Participating in this challenge will allow you to network with students, mentors, our contacts at the labs and provide you with problem solving and public speaking experience. Similar to other Innovation Academy programming this challenge will give you an experiential learning opportunity that is not usually offered in a traditional classroom. This is also something you can add to your resume that will set you apart from other students who may not have pursued extracurricular activities during their degree programs. In addition, the Innovation Academy also has an Innovation Scholars program which gives our seniors a digital credential and honor cords to wear at graduation – by participating in this challenge you will be eligible to be an Innovation Scholar.