Community Innovation Mentorship Program 2.0

Join us for the kickoff of the 2nd Community Innovation Mentorship Program (CIMP 2021) which aims to harness the collective impact of university-industry-local government collaboration and to deliver a solution that will address a notable problem in Hawai‘i. Hear about this unique program, part of an industry-integrated course that prepares our next generation with the problem solving skills and experiences to launch them into their careers.

THE CIMP 2021 CHALLENGE:

Climate change poses a significant threat to the Hawaiian islands and has contributed to an eighteen per cent drop in precipitation over the past thirty years. This increasing drying trend, coupled with the anticipated growth in the State's population (resulting in changes in land use from forested areas to urban development), will likely raise the demand for water and compromise Hawai‘i's fresh water supplies over the coming decades. 

If Hawai‘i does not begin planning ahead, ensuring the islands' supply of fresh water in the future may cost the public a great deal. In an effort to encourage the protection of water resources, Hawai‘i’s State legislature passed Act42 (HB 1325), authorizing (but not requiring) Hawai‘i’s counties to adopt a storm water utility form of funding, and to charge storm water fees.

CIMP 2021 aims to deliver a technology prototype to enable the storm water utilities to play an important role in managing storm water runoff and its impacts on communities and the environment. This prototype will fundamentally enable the establishment for a fee-for-service based funding of a community’s defined storm water management program.

AGENDA:

• 1:00PM - Welcome and Presentation
• 1:30PM - Q&A

This year’s program is a collaboration among DataHouse, Belt Collins, Hawai'i Department of Education - Waipahu High School, the University of Hawai‘i College of Engineering, Transform Hawai‘i Government, Hawai‘i Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Hawai‘i Executive Collaborative (HEC). CIMP is part of Hawai‘i’s Technology Readiness User Evaluation (TRUE) Initiative, which tech-enables organizations and aims to create more higher-paying jobs in Hawai‘i.

For more information please visit: www.stormwaterutilityoahu.org

ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED

The College of Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi is dedicated to world-class education and research. We produce the entrepreneurial and innovative human and intellectual capital required to be competitive in an increasingly technological and global society. Through our graduates and our research, we provide people and discoveries to transform lives and to support vibrant, knowledge-based economies. We are inspired by the principles of sustainability and resilience, flavored by our unique island environment.