Overview

The Global Problem-Solving Institute, Pioneer’s newest transformational learning experience, equips today’s scholars and tomorrow’s leaders with innovative tools to tackle the world’s toughest problems.

Innovate for Impact

Join this institute and learn to see and solve complex problems from different perspectives. Using design-thinking principles, you’ll integrate insights from multiple disciplines to create innovative solutions. Discover how you can make a real impact!

  • A Complex, Wicked Problem
  • How One Discipline Views the Problem
  • How a Different Discipline Views the Same Problem
  • How a Different Discipline Views the Same Problem
  • How a GPSI scholar learns to view the problem
GPSI Global Connection

What is the Global Problem-Solving Institute?

  • A virtual innovation lab where outstanding high-school students from across the globe collaborate to solve complex, wicked problems.
  • A unique opportunity to work individually and in teams and to engage with multiple university professors to synthesize:
    • Systems-thinking principles to analyze complex problems,
    • Multi-disciplinary knowledge to contextualize the challenges, and
    • Design-thinking methods to craft solutions.
Why participate in the Global Problem-Solving Institute-min

Why participate in the Global Problem-Solving Institute?

  • Tackle complex problems that matter to you and the world
  • Prepare for the most cutting-edge university programs
  • Engage with faculty members from multiple prestigious universities
  • Take on the undergraduate-level rigor of a Pioneer Academics’ experience
  • Receive an objective evaluation of your work in the program, which Pioneer can send (with your permission) to colleges and universities on your behalf.
  • Receive priority consideration for Pioneer’s Research Program if you are a top performer in the GPSI.

Earn College Credits through GPSI

Students who successfully complete their GPSI experience – earning a final grade of C- or higher – are eligible to receive two (2) college credits from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Pioneer Research
  • 3

    Terms each year

  • 14

    Countries represented by student teams

  • 15+

    Colleges and universities represented by GPSI faculty

  • 4

    Global problems

The Problems

  • Pioneer Research

    Analyzing AI

    Taming the Technology That is Transforming Our Future

    Disciplines

    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Economics
    • Science, Technology and Society
  • Pioneer Research

    Disabling Diseases

    Addressing the Challenges of Chronic Conditions

    Disciplines

    • Medical Anthropology
    • Neuroscience and Psychology
    • Biomedical Engineering
  • Pioneer Research

    Plate and Planet

    Food Solutions to Address the Climate Crisis

    Disciplines

    • Environmental Science
    • Economics
    • Psychology
  • Pioneer Research

    Resource at Risk

    Improving Access to Clean Water

    Disciplines

    • Environmental Geochemistry
    • Public Health
    • Engineering

Weekly Schedule

Timeline
  • Pioneer Research

    ~2.5 hours of Synchronous Live Sessions

    • Instructional Facilitator-led collaboration/project work, discussion, skills and methods practice, and coaching (2 sessions per week)
    • + the Ask-the-Expert sessions with content expert professors in each discipline.
  • Pioneer Research

    ~4.5 hours of Asynchronous Work

    • Video lectures/presentations
    • Reading – journal articles, case studies, etc.
    • Project work – research, writing, revising, preparing presentations, etc.

Institutions Represented by GPSI Faculty

  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford University
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Davidson College
  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford University
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Davidson College
  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford University
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Davidson College
  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford University
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Davidson College