The Next Big Idea™ - High School
The Next Big IdeaTM High School
SPONSORED BY
The deadline to submit your pitch for the 2024 Next Big Idea: High School has been extended to February 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. We want to see more of your innovation – register today and give us your Next Big Idea!
The Next Big Idea: High School version is a derivation of the annual Next Big Idea competition, which is held at NTID for its college students. Next Big Idea: High School is open to any deaf or hard-of-hearing students who are in grades 9-12 as of Spring 2024. The goal of Next Big Idea: High School is for students to come up with a product, business, service, or technology that solves a problem or eliminates an existing challenge for potential consumers and/or users everywhere.
Overview
The Next Big Idea: High School returns for 2024! For the upcoming NBI: HS competition, students can work alone or in teams to develop a business pitch. Registration for NBI: HS opens on November 20, 2023 and is open to all qualifying deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students.
1
Round 1
Students will develop a product, business, service, or technology pitch to be submitted to our panel of judges. The Next Big Idea: High School judges will select the top 20 teams to move forward.
The deadline to submit your pitch has been extended to February 16, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. Be sure to review the requirements for submitting your pitch!
2
Round 2
On February 21, 2024 the top teams will be announced and given an opportunity to prepare for a virtual interview with a panel of judges. Interviews will be conducted on Zoom and take no longer than 30 minutes. Recommendations to prepare for the Zoom interview will be available to help your team.
Interviews will be scheduled between February 21, 2024 and March 8, 2024.
Once interviews conclude, the top three teams will be invited to RIT/NTID to present their business idea in the final round for a chance to win up to $3,000!
3
Round 3
Round 3: The top eight teams will be invited to RIT/NTID from Thursday, April 25 to Saturday, April 27, 2024. During this time, the top three teams will deliver a comprehensive business pitch to a larger panel of judges that includes representatives from ZP Better Together.
The top teams will win cash prizes to jump start their business idea!
All individuals attending the final round at RIT/NTID will be invited to explore Imagine RIT on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Submitting a Pitch
Eligibility
- Contestants must be in 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade in Spring 2024 to participate in the competition.
- Contestants must have some form of hearing loss.
- Contestants must come up with a new product, business, service or technology and pitch their idea to the judges.
Requirements for submitting your pitch
Develop a video no longer than five minutes explaining your innovative idea.
- The video must include a presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, Canva or Prezi.
- The video must be uploaded on Youtube.com.
- Submit a link to the video along with a presentation file to jamnca@rit.edu.
Round 1 Presentation:
Presentations should outline your idea and business plan, which must include the following information:
- What is the product and/or service?
- What is the goal of this product and/or service?
- Who is your target audience?
- Presentations must be no longer than five minutes.
How to Upload an Unlisted Video
In order to submit your pitch, create an unlisted video and submit it to the Next Big Idea: High School team. To upload a video and make it unlisted:
- Sign into or create your YouTube account.
- Go to your My Channel Page.
- Upload a video by clicking on create a video in the upper right banner, and then upload video.
- Change the setting to upload the video as unlisted and select the video.
- Click done to confirm.
- Copy and paste the unlisted link for submission.
If you already uploaded a video, but forgot to make it unlisted, don’t worry! To edit a video and change it to an unlisted video:
- Go to the Video Manager and click on the video.
- Go to Edit. Under Basic information, you’ll see the option to mark your video as unlisted, public, or private.
- Select unlisted.
- Copy the video URL (found to the right of the video in Video Manager under video information).
- Copy and paste the unlisted link for submission.
The title of your video must include your project title and your first and last name, as well as names of any team members.
Required Forms
- Eligibility Requirements & Parental Permission (pdf, 156 kb)
- Emergency Contact Information (pdf, 192 kb)
- Media Release (pdf, 154 kb)
- Participation & Release Agreement (pdf, 74 kb)
- Participant Code of Conduct (pdf, 137 kb)
- Participant Rules (pdf, 98 kb)
- Registration (pdf, 170 kb)
- Virtual Youth Program Release Agreement & Waiver (pdf, 154 kb
Upon completing all forms and required documents, you may email them to jamnca@rit.edu with “Next Big Idea: High School 2024” in the subject line.
You also may mail all forms and required documents to:
Rochester Institute of Technology
NTID Next Big Idea: High School
52 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY
14623-5604
Or fax all forms and required documents to 585-475-2696.
