PENN DESIGN CHALLENGE

PENN DESIGN CHALLENGE

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger

not only continues to be one of the most successful designers in the world today, but he challenges our younger generation to make sure they are ready for the future of design.

On November 25, 2013, as the holidays began to spark a retail electricity,  announced the sponsorship of a unique student competition which was born in collaboration with The Wharton Design Club. This creative concept is known as the PENN DESIGN CHALLENGE, for students of the University of Pennsylvania, giving them the chance to explore the many sensational ways that mobile technology can transform the customer experience for .

This is not something that was conceived overnight.  In the past two months, 12 student teams have been diligently competing to develop the most defining concept to strengthen the brand.

The PENN DESIGN CHALLENGE is co-sponsored by The Mack Institute for Technology & Innovation.  In University of Pennsylvania’s more than 200 year history, there has never been a cross-university competition quite this large.  Over 70 students took part from The Wharton School, the Integrated Product Design Master’s Program and Penn Engineering along with Penn Design. The amount of talent put into this competition was simply astounding.

Judges from leading world design firms along with professors, leaders from the Penn community and the ‘ team had a most difficult decision to make. Five teams were chosen who had to really sell their concept on Friday, November 8, 2013 to ‘ executives.  The winning team moved on to convince upper management located at headquarters in New York City that they had the best way to draw in the customer.  The team to receive the Grand Prize was: Anjali Bhatia (Wharton), Emily Kahn (IPD), Kristy Kimball (Design), Yenting Liu (Engineering), Xinjie Ma (Engineering), and Aditi Nim (Wharton)!  The team to win the People’s Choice Award included  David Conegliano (Engineering), James Gault (Engineering), Cathy Li (Wharton), Jessica Park (Wharton), Tan Tran (IPD), and Kangyi Zheng (Design)!

“I am truly inspired by the talent and dedication of these students at The Wharton School,” says . “Giving them the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to a real brand is incredibly exciting. Mentorship and educating students to become leaders is something I have always been passionate about and I am honored to be supporting this unique initiative.”

As a company, is committed to growth and innovation and the competition allows students to apply theoretical constructs and academic lessons to a business challenge with a leader in the fashion industry. The company continues to show substantial growth throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia and maintains a unique positioning within the global luxury market.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Michael Kors PR