Kohler - Marquette M-Prize Challenge

Believing in Better: Sustainable Living 

                                                              Challenge- Every Drops Counts:

      How can your team reimagine products and methods to conserve water during everyday activities? 

 

Every year since the first Innovation for Good® I-Prize competition in 2018, Kohler Company invites its 40,000+ associates around the world to propose revolutionary innovations and solutions for pressing global social and environmental issues. In this Shark Tank-style competition, teams develop and pitch viable business ideas to a team of executive judges for the chance to win incubation funding and for their idea to advance into the I-Prize incubator for further iteration the following year.

 

This year Marquette University and Kohler Company have partnered once again to continue the M-Prize competition, a similar innovation pitch competition for Marquette students. Students will apply as individuals – 30 students will be accepted. They will form six multidisciplinary teams of five students each during our Innovation Day at Kohler.

 

The 2024 M-Prize Challenge is focused on helping people live more gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives. Kohler Company challenges Marquette undergraduate students from all colleges to develop and pitch their own unique solutions to water, sanitation, and hygiene deficiencies in displaced communities.

 

                                                                              Time commitment?

That's up to the team! On average, teams should spend ~2 hours per week on their pitch after the day-long event at Kohler. 

 

 

M-Prize Judge Profiles

 

Laura E. Kohler serves as Senior Vice President – Human Resources, Stewardship and Sustainability for Kohler Co. (“Kohler”), and has served on Kohler’s Board of Directors and its Executive Committee since 1999. She oversees the company’s worldwide Human Resources organization and leads Kohler’s Stewardship and Sustainability programs.

In addition to serving on the Kohler Co. Board of Directors, Ms. Kohler recently joined the Bank First Corporation Board of Directors; served as board chair of Outward Bound USA, and Chairs the Kohler Trusts for Arts & Education, Preservation, and the Kohler Trust for Clean Water. She also is a board member of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the Kohler Foundation and Duke University’s Trinity College Board of Visitors.

 

Ms. Kohler previously served eight years on the Kohler Public School Board and in 2005 was named co-recipient of the                                                                Wisconsin State Superintendent’s Friends of Education award. Ms. Kohler was given Outward Bound’s highest honor, the 2020 Kurt Hahn Award, for her many years of work to change lives and inspire others through expeditionary learning. In 2021, Ms. Kohler was named a Finalist for Innovative Leader of the Year, in Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators.Laura focuses on making a meaningful impact on our communities, protecting the environment, and creating ethical, safe and inclusive workplaces where all employees can achieve their full potential.

 

Alex James is Kohler Co’s Vice President of Advanced Development, a role he has recently taken up whilst relocating his family from the UK to Kohler WI. In this role Alex is responsible for driving new technologies and transformative business opportunities for the Kohler Kitchen & Bath business.

Alex joined Kohler Co. into the Mira UK business in 2006 as a graduate mechanical engineer and worked his way up through Engineering & Programme Management ranks to lead the Mira New Product Development team, taking on the role of NPD Director in November 2020, overseeing all engineering delivery for the UK business. As the NPD director for Kohler Mira, Alex sat on the business executive board of directors, working with his fellow executive directors to drive the strategic and day to day running of the UK business. Alex holds a Master of Engineering degree in Product Design & Manufacture from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.

 

Matt Sanchez is Kohler Co.’s Business Director for WasteLAB and Innovation for Good (IfG). In this role Matt is responsible for the business strategy, planning, execution, and sales for both business units. He also oversees new product development and operations and works collaboratively across the organization to achieve net sales and profit goals.

Matt joined Kohler Co. in 2016 and has fourteen years of industry experience. He previously worked at Harley-Davidson Motor Company in various finance and supply chain roles. Matt’s first six years at Kohler Co. were in the Global Supply Chain group. During this time, he championed NPD initiatives, supported plant expansions and greenfield ramps, developed and executed inventory strategies, and participated in sales and operations planning across multiple levels.

 

Matt’s approach emphasizes cross-functional communication and collaboration to deliver results. Matt also has global experience having worked in Kohler’s Saraburi (Thailand) and Shanghai locations. He holds a bachelors degree in Finance & International Business from Marquette University and currently sits on its External Advisory Board.

 

On June 10, 2024, the Marquette University Board of Trustees announced it had elected Dr. Kimo Ah Yun to serve as the university’s acting president following the death of President Michael R. Lovell.

Acting President Ah Yun also serves as the university’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He previously served as the dean of the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication from 2016-2018. Prior to joining Marquette University, he was associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at California State University, Sacramento, where he also served as chair of the department of communication studies, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and professor of communication studies. During his 20-year tenure at Sacramento State, he co-chaired the President’s Committee to Build Campus Unity, which programmed and executed campuswide conversations on topics such as discrimination, identity and privilege.

Acting President Ah Yun earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from California State University, Sacramento, his master’s degree in communication studies from Kansas State University, and his doctorate in communication from Michigan State University.

 

Dr. Kristina (Kris) Ropella, Eng '85, is Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University. She joined the biomedical engineering faculty at Marquette in 1990 and served as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2004 to 2013, when she was named the executive associate dean. Ropella assumed the permanent role of Opus Dean in 2015. In this leadership role, Ropella provides vision and leads strategic planning and implementation, creation of academic programs, engagement with industry, government, and other academic institutions, fundraising and community outreach.
 
Ropella’s research expertise is in biosignal processing and medical imaging for diagnostic medical devices, with emphasis on monitoring of cardiac arrhythmias and brain mapping. She led the creation of several innovative educational programs, including the Joint Functional Imaging Ph.D. program with the Medical College of Wisconsin, a new biocomputer engineering major at Marquette, a GAANN Graduate Fellowship Program in Functional Imaging, and the Marquette and MCW Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is also the founder and faculty director of E-Lead, a three-year curricular leadership development program that offers undergraduate students the opportunity to build on their technical skills and develop their capacity to lead people and teams.

 

Dr. Jill Guttormson is the dean of the College of Nursing. A professor of nursing, she previously served as associate dean for academic affairs in the college, has chaired the College of Nursing Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the University Board of Undergraduate Studies and the University Committee on Teaching. She has been recognized by the university for her commitment to teaching, receiving the Rev. John P. Raynor, S.J., Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018.
 
Guttormson has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in nursing education from the University of Minnesota. She joined the College of Nursing faculty in 2011 after earning her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.

Guttormson’s research focuses on supporting best practices in critical care nursing and symptom management and patient communication during mechanical ventilation with the goal of enhancing patient-centered care and the patient experience.

 

                                      How will your sustainable design proposal be evaluated?

                                                                     Teams’ presentations and ideas will be evaluated in 5 key areas:

Additional Resources

 

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Presented by Kohler Company  

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