Schmidt Futures, the Rhodes Trust and the Congressional App Challenge Announce Partnership, New Cycle of Rise Applications for Brilliant Teens to Join the Global Rise Community

Winners of the 2023 Rise Global Challenge Will Join 200 Past Winners Worldwide to Receive Access to a Lifetime of Benefits

Washington DC, Nov. 28, 2022 – The Congressional App Challenge, a project of the Internet Education Foundation, announced its partnership with Rise to increase diversity among applicants in the United States in hard-to-reach areas. Rise is a global initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust that finds exceptionally talented young people around the world and supports them throughout their lives as they work to serve others. The partnership aims to encourage youth ages 15-17 (as of July 1st, 2023) to apply to the Rise Challenge. 

As the anchor program of a broader $1 billion philanthropic commitment from Eric and Wendy Schmidt to support global talent, Rise focuses on identifying promising young people and providing them with opportunities, resources, and support. As part of the Rise Challenge, Rise will select 100 Global Winners from tens of thousands of applicants to join the 2023 Rise Cohort. The program is designed to encourage a lifetime of service and learning by providing support that could include scholarships, career services, and funding opportunities to help these leaders serve others for decades to come.  

Since its inception, Rise has welcomed over 150,000 people from over 170 countries to its community and selected 200 Winners from 69 countries of origin who have showcased their brilliance – from making education more accessible to mitigating global warming and developing tools to better detect cancer. 

Rise recognizes that talent is created equally, but opportunity is not, which is why they partner with 30+ global organizations, including the Congressional App Challenge, United World College (UWC), Manchester United Foundation, Teach for All, Amideast, and Latin American Leadership Academy, to scour the globe to find brilliant young people who are passionate about building a better world. 

“With aligned missions to seek out, cultivate and enrich talent, Rise is proud to team up with the Congressional App Challenge to find and support a network of extraordinary people from diverse and traditionally underrepresented backgrounds across the United States who have the potential to serve others together for life,” said Rise Executive Director, Mark German.

“The Congressional App Challenge is thrilled to initiate our partnership with Rise as we work together to find and support the next generation of young problem-solvers looking to build a better world,” said Program Director Joseph Alessi.

To encourage young program participants from communities traditionally underrepresented across the US in technology fields to apply,  Rise and the Congressional App Challenge will host a virtual event on December 7th, 2022 as part of Computer Science Education Week. 

All Rise Global Winners receive the following benefits upon selection: 

  • Residential Summit: A fully-funded, three-week residential summit with other members of the Rise Global Winner cohort.
  • Global Winner Network: Access to the Rise Global Winners network to connect on common interests, make service commitments, launch enterprises, and collaborate.
  • Counseling and Career Support: Advice and support for applying to university and selecting a career
  • Programming: Access to specialized programs, courses, and other opportunities through Rise partners. 
  • Higher Education Scholarships: A four-year, post-secondary scholarship at any accredited university, including tuition and a living stipend, based on need and where not already covered by financial aid.
  • Technology:  A technology package, such as a laptop or tablet, to be determined annually. 

In addition, all Rise Global Winners can apply for the following benefits:

  • Partner Network: Matching to programs, secondary school scholarships, internships, and other benefits from partners who are part of the Rise network.
  • Funding Opportunities: Apply for funding to experiment with innovative ideas to address major problems in local communities or around the world—ranging from seed money to start a social enterprise to a grant for a non-profit. 
  • Education Support: Apply for scholarship funds for a graduate degree. 

How to Apply?

The online applications are open on the Rise website and are available until January 25, 2023, at 16:59 GMT. For applicants without access to mobile technology, Rise works with its partners on the ground to offer alternative pathways through paper applications. 

Rise provides applicants with multiple opportunities during the application process to showcase their potential through videos, projects, and group interviews. The application allows applicants to select projects most suited to their interests, abilities, and time availability.

The Rise 2023 Challenge has three stages: 

  • Submission: Applicants introduce themselves through videos, create an individual project that demonstrates their talents and benefits their communities, and peer review other applicants’ projects, among other activities.
  • Interview: Rise then selects up to 500 Finalists to advance to “Finalist Days,” where they demonstrate their motivations, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork skills in an innovative interview format. 
  • Global Winner Selection: From the Finalists, Rise selects 100 Global Winners to receive a lifetime of benefits as they work to serve others.

About the Congressional App Challenge

​​The Congressional App Challenge, a project of the Internet Education Foundation, is a bi-partisan initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives where Members of Congress host district-wide Congressional App Challenges for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Every year, Congress challenges students in their districts to create and submit their original apps for a chance to win the Congressional App Challenge (CAC). Each challenge is district-specific. U.S. Representatives publicly recognize their winning teams.

About Rise

Rise is a program that finds brilliant people who need opportunity and supports them for life as they work to serve others. The program starts at ages 15–17 and offers benefits including scholarships, mentorship, access to career development opportunities, funding and more as Global Winners work toward solving humanity’s most pressing problems. For more information about Rise, visit www.risefortheworld.org .

 

Media contacts

Korede Akinsete, [email protected]

Joseph Alessi, [email protected]

Hiltzik Strategies, [email protected]