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2026 Student/Alumni Innovator of the Year Guidelines and Eligibility

Chancellor's Innovation Awards 2026

Student/Alumni Innovator of the Year

UC San Diego’s innovators play an essential role in translating ideas into actions to improve the lives of others and address the grand challenges of our global society. The UC San Diego Chancellor’s Innovation Awards recognizes truly exceptional innovators - faculty, students and recent alumni - for their success in launching new startup companies or other entities, or in developing technologies, social platforms or other social innovations through their research, program participation or activities across campus. The Chancellor’s Innovation Awards recognize and celebrate the uniquely Triton innovative culture and entrepreneurial spirit that have become defining hallmarks of UC San Diego.

The Student/Alumni Innovator of the Year Award recognizes an entity created by a UC San Diego student or a recent alumni (graduated within the past 3 years) whose innovative or entrepreneurial activities have either had a measurable societal impact in the last year or exhibit great potential to make a substantial societal impact in the near-term future.

Review Criteria

Consider to what degree the Entity has;

  • Contributed to innovative policy development, new business or educational processes, social innovation, discovery and/or technology.
  • Achieved independent recognition of value - through customer acquisition, uptake by governmental or educational institutions, or creation of a new entity.
  • Made positive impacts on other innovators – “pay it forward” effect
  • Demonstrated their self-initiative and entrepreneurial leadership throughout their time as a UC San Diego student
  • Demonstrated that their innovation is aligned with their career goals

This award is open to entities established by undergraduate and graduate students, from all academic majors or disciplines in good academic standing who are currently enrolled in a degree-program, or who have earned their degree within the last three years at the time of the award, which is April 2026. Eligible candidates must have received their degree in January 2023 or later. Degrees conferred before January 2023 (such as December 2022 or April 2021) do not qualify.

Cash Prize

The Student/Alumni Innovator of the Year Award comes with a single, cash prize of $25,000 made payable to the entity. Note: this prize is not intended to be awarded directly to an individual student/alumni or sole proprietor.

Review Process

The Chancellor’s Innovation Awards Selection Committee members will independently review and score each Applicant based on an objective scoring rubric designed to evaluate the uniqueness of the innovation(s) and their potential economic and societal impact. The scoring rubric will include the criteria above, along with any additional metrics established by the IEC or Awards Committee.

Who May Apply and Requirements

  • Any member of the Triton community that meets the qualifications may apply
  • A Student or Alumni Applicant must identify a professional reference (who may or may not be contacted if deemed necessary by the committee) with ties to UC San Diego, as indicated - a Dean, Director of an Innovation Center, Member of the IDEAS Council, or Council of Innovation Leadership.
  • Applicants must submit a 2-minute introductory video that illuminates the novelty of their solution, the impact of the innovation, and why they are the best person to make it happen. Please see the Video Submission Guidelines.
  • Past award recipients are not eligible for the program. Past Applicants who did not receive an award may re-apply. 
  • Applicants do not need to exemplify all criteria. Applicants can focus on one or more than one of the key selection criteria. 
  • All application material and content must be non-confidential in nature.

Glossary

Return on Investment (ROI): a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. ROI tries to directly measure the amount of return on a particular investment, relative to the investment’s cost. To calculate ROI, the benefit (or return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment. The result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio. 

Breakthrough Innovation: based on new technologies or new ways of thinking and have a major  or major potential impact on society. They are often disruptive to existing industries, ecosystems, or cultures - fundamentally changing the dynamics of a given market

Intellectual Property (IP): refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright, and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish. Types of IP include patents, copyright, and trademarks, trade secrets, geographic locations, and industrial designs. 

Entity: An independent legal structure (e.g. C Corporation) that exists separately from the founder’s personal assets.