Create your own path. Be the driver of your future career. Combine your passion for creativity or desire to create change with your work in the classroom. Inspire others with your creative work or solutions to real world problems.

What are entrepreneurial and creative endeavors?

Students learn to set their own course by having experiences in early stage start-ups, advancing ideas to solve real world problems, or create artistic, written or performance-based projects. 

DifferenceMakers By the Numbers

  • $5M
    raised by teams
  • 40
    companies formed by teams
  • 11
    Number of teams patents filed or issued

Meet the DifferenceMakers

Team ZipperBuddy pitching their idea to the audience and judges at the 2024 $50,000 Idea Challenge.
Zipper Buddy
DifferenceMakers

Developing a velcro piece that attaches to a garment and acts in the same way zippers do and can be used one-handed.

ZipperBuddy is developing a velcro piece that attaches to a garment and acts in the same way zippers do and can be used one-handed.
Read More About Zipper Buddy 
DifferenceMaker-Team-BASH
BASH '16
DifferenceMakers

BASH plans to create and implement a new waste management system for the city of Les Cayes, Haiti.

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to have access to clean water.
Read More About BASH 
Alexander Hoefer, Biomedical Engineering student, and Sanskriti Sharma, Computer Engineering side by side in combined pictures smiling for the camera
Wonder Wheel
DifferenceMakers

Wonder Wheel is a novel device that will aid wheel chair users.

Wonder Wheel is a novel device that will aid wheel chair users.
Read More About Wonder Wheel 
Thanh Hoang and Trung Nguyen onstage with Steve Tello, Holly Butler and their “ Innovative Technology Solution” award at the 2018 DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge, a $4,500 prize they are using towards DEXTER, the pesticide-spraying robot
DEXTER
DifferenceMakers

DEXTER is aiming to help reduce the costs financially and environmentally to fruit farms by improving the efficiency of spraying pesticides on farms, and to helping to reduce the financial strain that comes with dumping the pesticides over their crops.

Pesticides are the best and worst invention, best for being able to increase a crop’s yield and provide more produce, and worst because of the environmental and health-related issues of them being used excessively.
Read More About DEXTER 
Operation250 is an online platform consisting of an educational website, engaging videos and a large social media presence, focused on educating both young adolescents, parents and educators on how to prevent radical extremist recruitment.
Operation250
DifferenceMakers

Operation250 is an online platform consisting of an educational website, engaging videos and a large social media presence, focused on educating both young adolescents, parents and educators on how to prevent radical extremist recruitment.

Operation250 aims to give students a better understanding about terrorism and online safety.
Read More About Operation250