An Illinois Tech team of graduate students has advanced to the semifinal round of The Climate Investment Challenge, a competition where more than 100 universities submitted proposals for creative solutions to address climate change.

The Climate Investment Challenge calls on graduate students to develop and describe creative financial solutions and innovations addressing the defining challenge of our time – climate change. This could include identifying untapped climate finance opportunities or developing innovative financial structures or instruments that improve the bankability of climate investments.

The Illinois Tech team, comprised of Jamie Stephens, Kalina Malyszko, Weiquan Cheng, and Pouya Haddadian Nekah, were recently accepted to the semifinal round. Their submission advocates for the establishment of a farmland REIT to privately control the water markets in California’s Central Valley, leading to better resource conservation in the region. If selected in the final round they stand to win £10,000 and pitch their idea in front of a top-tier panel of judges from investment banking, private equity and impact investing.