History

2006 Winners

School: Penn State
Team: Innovative Design Team
Project: The team developed a low-cost system for household waste-water treatment, which aims to resolve issues associated with straight-pipe sewer systems.

School: Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
Team: Higher Ground
Project: The team created a community theatre project, which brought together a rural community in a dialogue about drug-addition and other important-but-difficult to discuss topics.

School: Berea College
Team: Crafts Management Consulting Project
Project: The team redesigned an existing on-campus business to improve profitability and enable it to continue to provide educational and financial support to students.

 

2005 Winners

School: East Tennessee State University
Team: Blue Plum Digital Animation Festival
Project: The team organized a digital animation festival to add digital media to Appalachia’s rich artistic heritage and provide students with project leadership experience. Their competition attracted 20 short film submissions from around the country.

School: Eastern Kentucky University
Team: Cultural Heritage Tourism
Project: The team created a consulting group to plan and improve Berea’s tourism marketing. They helped earn an additional $10,000 grant to implement their ideas.

School: Marshall University
Team: Arachnovation
Project: The team developed a portable easel accessible to people with disabilities. They used the money to meet with manufacturers and refine their designs.

Other Participants included: The University of Kentucky, Berea College, and Morehead State University

 

When did the Appalachian IDEAS Network get started?
In January 2004, the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded the University of Kentucky a $25,000 grant to pilot the program. The first regional competition was held in April 2005.