• Apply: Submit your application for one (or more) of our five challenges.
• Initial Review: We’ll assess applications for challenge compatibility.
• Candidate Selection: Relevant candidates get initial interview invites.
• Interviews: Candidates meet our team.
• Final Selection: Corporate sponsors will make the final selection.
• Offer: 4-6 candidates get formal acceptances per each challenge.
• Onboarding: Process starts post-acceptance.

For Candidates Not Selected: We deeply appreciate your interest in joining our team. We want to assure you that our selection process reflects our efforts to choose the best fit in terms of a broad background, skill set, and role requirements. Not being selected does not reflect on your capabilities or potential. We are grateful for the effort and time you’ve invested in applying, and your application will remain in our records for future opportunities that align with your skills and experience.

• Enthusiastic about solving business challenges
• Commit to at least five hours per week until April 2024 (excluding vacations)
• Present the challenge in person at the Berkeley Innovation Forum in April 2024
• UC Berkeley student or recent graduate

• Opportunity to work with senior executives of elite global brands
• Develop your product management skills in a dynamic and innovative environment
• Work with cross-functional teams and collaborate with stakeholders to drive product development and launches
• Hands-on experience in Open Innovation, Product Management, and Business Models
• Opportunity to learn from world-renowned faculty

Challenge: Incorporating Trust through AI Tools to enhance the Nestle Brand

In a rapidly evolving global ecosystem of digital/on-line pet products, services and related content, how might Purina become the trusted curator of an on-line global marketplace for these products and services?

• How might a marketplace create value for consumers seeking pet products and services, for companies possessing those products and services and for Purina who is both the curator of the marketplace and a company possessing relevant products and services?  i.e. what is the value-proposition for consumers, companies and Purina to participate in this marketplace?
• What features might this marketplace offer to consumers and companies that motivate their participation in this marketplace?
• What might a prototype vision for this online marketplace look like?
• What assets does Purina possess that can lend credibility and/or be leveraged to grow/sustain this marketplace?
• How might Purina leverage AI (ML, Open Source, GenAI, etc) to enhance the desirability of this marketplace?
• What are the key showstopper-assumptions that must be true to enable this marketplace to thrive?
• What can Purina learn from other online marketplace model examples?

Corporate Sponsor/Mentors

• Mark Donavon, Global Director, Digital Strategy and Ecosystem Development
• Noah Krusell, Director, Digital & Ecosystem Strategy

Challenge: How can Kaneka effectively promote Green PlanetTM Biodegradable Polymer to deliver its value proposition and subsequently enhance brand recognition and corporate value in the USA?

Review & Evaluate

• Assess the current promotional concept for Green Planet at Kaneka.
  • Understand the primary messages and visuals used.
  • Identify the channels of promotion currently in play (e.g., digital, print, events).
  • Analyze the effectiveness of current promotional strategies (metrics, feedback, sales impact).

Understand the Stakeholders

• Define and identify the target groups for the market survey.
  • Segment the market (e.g., industries, consumers, partners).
  • Recognize the needs and preferences of each segment.
  • Determine the decision-makers and influencers within these segments.

Assess Market Dynamics

• Design and execute a market survey with the identified target groups.
  • Develop questionnaires or interview guides tailored to each segment.
  • Analyze survey results to gather insights on market perceptions and needs.
  • Identify gaps in the current promotion strategy based on feedback.

Get Creative & Innovative

• Determine strategies whereby the Green Planet promotion can boost Kaneka’s brand recognition and corporate value within the US market.
  • Explore innovative promotional tactics (e.g., influencer partnerships, experiential marketing).
  • Consider leveraging sustainability trends and eco-conscious movements.
  • Develop a multi-channel marketing strategy tailored to the US audience.

Corporate Sponsor & Mentor

• Senior Sponsoring Executive: Naoto Nakajima, NY/CA Office General Manager

Challenge: How can individuals be empowered with the right tools and incentives to positively influence the sustainability and conservation of Earth’s vital assets?

1. Evaluate Earth’s Current State:

   1. Consider Earth’s vital assets: water, air, land, and minerals. How are they being depleted in today’s linear fashion?

   2. Refer to insights from Solomon Darwin’s book regarding the imbalance in Earth’s balance sheet.

   3. Understand the power of change in the hands of each individual on our planet.

2. Understand the Stakeholders:

   1. What do individuals know about their habits and their impact on the planet?

   2. How do incentives and information influence individual actions toward sustainability?

   3. Recognize the role of psychology and anthropology in affecting change in human behavior.

3. Assess the Current Situation and Potential Change:

   1. Culture: How do current societal norms and values affect individual actions towards the environment?

   2. Understand the positive and negative impacts of providing information about individual habits on Earth’s health.

   3. Motivations: How can individuals be motivated to act positively for the environment without inducing fear?

4. Get Creative and Innovative:

   1. Recognize potential technologies and methodologies, such as tokenization and web3 technology.

   2. Think: What are the primary benefits of conserving Earth’s resources? What are the misunderstood aspects?

   3. Consider the influence of technology in future solutions.

Candidate Profile

Participants should be passionate about the environment, understand basic business principles, be tech-savvy, entrepreneurial, and capable of holistic thinking. While not all these traits are mandatory for each participant, the collective team should embody them.

Deliverables

• Develop a business plan/model that integrates information dissemination and incentive mechanisms.

• Create a product prototype to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

• Validate the thesis by showcasing the prototype’s real-world effectiveness.

Corporate Sponsor & Mentor:

• Arvind Ravishunkar, General Manager

Challenge: How could UUSA leverage its position in the nuclear fuel cycle to create a marketing strategy focused on thought leadership and improving brand recognition in its focused segment

1. Evaluate Urenco USA’s profile.
   1. Where in the uranium fuel market does the company reside and what are its key objectives?
   2. How can the company’s key business objectives and be leveraged for the improvement of society?
   3. What are UUSA’s strengths in ESG?
2. Understand the stakeholders.
   1. How does the public perceive nuclear power, and what are the driving factors for this image?
   2. What does the industry perceive of UUSA and why?
   3. What do prospective employees think of nuclear power and the company?
3. Assess the industry’s dynamics and how change is perceived.
   1. Culture (define what the culture of the Nuclear Industry is)
   2. Safety is always a key priority and highlighted. Does this actually cause the development of a positive or negative impression
   3. Motivations (how solutions can be delivered in a risk averse narrative while still taking advantage of open innovation)
4. Get Creative and Innovative
   1. What other introduction to new technology has been as dramatically negative (think atomic bomb)
   2. Think: Key benefits, misunderstood characteristics
5. Deliver an implementable solution based on research and surveys based on scope of the project.
   1. A marketing campaign that uses diverse elements of social media
   2. Vetting of marketing campaign on key focus groups of general population as well as prospective employees

Corporate Sponsor & Mentor

1. Name of the Senior Sponsoring Executive: Paul Lorskulsint (Chief Nuclear Officer)
2. Name of the contact person who will coordinate the work with our student group: Paul Lorskulsint (Chief Nuclear Officer)
3. Name of Senior Executive who plans to attend Mid-point Review & Final Presentation: Paul Lorskulsint (Chief Nuclear Officer), Lisa Hardison (Communications Manager – tentative)

Challenge: Formulate an implementable launch strategy for the New Energy Vehicles in China

1. Analyze the NEV landscape in China.
2. Propose a competitive offering around and outside the Porsche vehicle especially for the China market.
3. Study NEV product launches in China and identify success factors to appeal to the local audience.
4. Develop a strategy for Porsche to launch a NEV in China, including brand positioning, product positioning, target group, pricing range, and related marketing efforts.

Procedural Considerations from Porsche

1. Student applicant interview/selection
2. Signing of a non-disclosure agreement with Porsche China by the students and relevant Berkeley faculty members

Corporate Sponsor & Mentor

• Executive – Sheng Tantzscher, Chief Financial Officer, Porsche China
• Project Contact – Janice Tsang, Head of Innovation, Porsche China