Created at\u00a0the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ in 2015, the\u00a0Tibetan Innovation Challenge’s\u00a0goal is to develop self-sustaining and replicable business ideas to alleviate the economic difficulties Tibetan refugees face. The intercollegiate business plan competition focuses on social entrepreneurship aimed at improving the lives of 125,000 Tibetan refugees. The inaugural event was held at Tibet House U.S. in Manhattan last July and featured an appearance by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism. A team from Texas Tech University won.<\/p>\n
This year, while the Dalai Lama will not be making an appearance, Rochester will again be well represented on two of the five finalist teams. The competition presentations are open to the public and will be held this Friday, June 3, at\u00a0the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center, 300 East River Road. Students from Brandeis University, the University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Oxford, and the University of Tampa also will compete.<\/p>\n
Rochester\u2019s “Mya Barley Powder” team is comprised of Kat Cook \u201817S (MBA), Su Sean Ng \u201816S (MBA), Fahria Omar \u201817S (MBA), Brandon Smart \u201919 (BS\/BA), and Sarah Spoto \u201817S (MBA).<\/p>\n
Omar developed the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have known some Tibetan refugees through close family friends,\u201d the Alexandria, Virginia resident said. \u201cWhenever I\u2019ve visited or interacted with them, I was always enamored by their culture. We used to drink butter tea, barley water, and other teas.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Omar discovered the health benefits of barley water, she knew she could make a difference in refugees’ lives.<\/p>\n