Community and Partnerships
NC State Social and Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SSIE) works with many campus, community and venture partners to develop and support the next generation of change makers.
Campus Partners
SSIE is part of a robust campus ecosystem whose lifeblood is interdisciplinary collaboration and deep partnerships with many on-campus ventures.
Hack NC State
Hack NC State is the premier hackathon at the university. In this event, students will collaborate to solve problems using technology. Interdisciplinary teams will focus on a track — such as social impact — and build an innovative project from scratch.
Make-A-Thon
Make-A-Thon is NC State’s sustainability innovation competition hosted every spring. In this event, students collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to create the best solution to a sustainability challenge.
DataFest
DataFest is an undergraduate event where student teams work to find and share meaning in a large, complex dataset.
Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS)
Funding from KIETS supports the Social Innovation Fellows. In addition, Raj Narayan, the associate director, serves as one of the core faculty team mentors for the Social Innovation Fellows.
Office of Sustainability
SSIE works hand in hand with the Office of Sustainability to ensure all of our programs are as sustainable as possible. In fact, the Social Innovation Fellows program won the 2020 NC State Sustainability award.
Community Partners
Many local community sites and organizations serve as valuable partners in providing resources and mentorship with the Triangle area.
Raleigh Founded
NC State students are able to work alongside local entrepreneurs at the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage in the Raleigh Founded Centennial location and the Entrepreneurship Clinic at the Raleigh Founded North location.
Venture Partners
The Social Innovation Fellow program works closely with social and sustainable businesses to have a greater impact on the world.
Perseverancia/Metanoia
Launched by Social Innovation Fellow (2024-2025) Jack Rothacker, Perseverancia is a non-profit focused on supporting education in rural El Salvador, alongside Metanoia, an education business that focuses on providing high-impact experiences for Americans looking to learn more about the world. Fellows will help Rothacker build out his blended model of education impact to make it sustainable in every way.
Medicines for Humanity
With the help of Social Innovation Fellow (2018-2019) Victoria Fuda, Medicines for Humanity focuses on medical care in hard to reach underserved areas of the world. The organization found a variety of practices that work in different locations, and is wrestling with the challenge of adapting solutions to scale across different contexts. Fellows will work with Fuda to ensure that impactful programs reach where they are needed.
Water Institute
The Water Institute is supporting recovery from Hurricane Helene, with an emphasis on all of the trees and branches knocked down across western North Carolina. High levels of sediment and erratic size and shapes of this wood makes it difficult to use for many applications.
Geoscientist Chris Esposito is exploring converting this wood to biochar, which has a variety of applications in agriculture and water purification. Fellows will help the Water Institute to better understand which of these potential markets holds the most promise for the almost unlimited supply of biochar that could be created from the piles of wood in communities from Boone to Brevard.
River Arts District
The River Arts District in Asheville was one of the most severely affected by the flooding. Jeffrey Burroughs, President of River Arts District Artists, coordinates efforts to help move the community forward. Challenges include helping artists do more business online with the loss of retail space and food traffic in the district, and addressing critical inputs following the closure of prominent local suppliers. Fellows will help River Arts District Artists to give their members what they need to reopen and grow their businesses.
Enviracell
Engineering Graduate Student Bhavya Jain is working with Faculty member Amay Bandodkar to launch Enviracell, a startup that addresses the need for batteries with a smaller environmental footprint in both their production and disposal. Fellows will work with Jain on the challenges of establishing the market for the product and the milestones necessary to attract investment.