"Culture is Currency"

National HSI STEAM Innovation Challenge

Turn Culture Into Creativity. Stories Into Innovation. Ideas Into Impact.

Join the Culture is Currency National HSI STEAM Innovation Challenge, a dynamic opportunity for students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to explore the intersection of culture, entrepreneurship, technology, and storytelling while highlighting the journeys of real entrepreneurs in the Houston community.

Powered by California State University and a national network of HSI Innovation Hubs, including Houston City College, this grant-funded experience provides students with mentorship, hands-on learning, and the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset while creating something meaningful.

What Will You Do?

Working in interdisciplinary teams of 2 to 5 HCC students, you will be randomly matched through a lottery with a Houston-area entrepreneur. Student teams will document the story behind their business through interviews, still images, and video - from the inspiration that sparked their idea to the challenges, financial decisions, innovations, and community connections that shaped their journey. 

Students will participate in a creative bootcamp and gain hands-on experience using apple technology and creative applications to transform their recorded content into compelling podcasts and digital videos that bring these entrepreneurial stories to life.

Along the way, you’ll build real-world skills in:

• Storytelling & Interviewing – Learn how to ask meaningful questions and turn conversations into compelling narratives.
•  Digital Media & Technology – Create professional digital content using Apple technology and creative tools.
• Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking – Discover how entrepreneurs identify opportunities, solve problems, and turn ideas into action.
• Financial Literacy – Explore how entrepreneurs make decisions about money, resources, growth, and sustainability.
• Research & Business Development – Investigate markets, communities, and the strategies behind successful ventures.
• Communication & Pitching – Strengthen your ability to present ideas and share stories with confidence.

Most importantly, you’ll discover that entrepreneurship isn’t just something you study—it’s happening all around you. By amplifying the voices and lived experiences of Houston entrepreneurs, you’ll help preserve stories that often go untold while exploring entrepreneurship as a pathway for your own future.

Whether your passion is technology, business, design, journalism, communications, education, STEAM, or the arts, there’s a place for you in this challenge.

Apply now to bring Houston’s entrepreneurial stories to life, and join a national movement where culture fuels innovation.

Project Timeline:

• Thursday, October 8th — National Launch / Welcome & Information Session (Virtual)

• Saturday, October 17th — All-Day Bootcamp (Mandatory for Students)

• Mentoring Sessions — October 19th, October 26th, and November 6th
  Students will connect with their mentors to work on interviews and projects with the entrepreneurs. Students will also have the opportunity to come into the lab to edit and refine their projects.

• Friday, November 6th — Final Project Submissions

• Monday, November 9th – Friday, November 13th — Project Review
  Submissions will be reviewed to select 10 projects from the expected 20 team submissions.

• Thursday, November 19th — Festival & Project Showcase
  Students will present their projects to a panel of judges.
  Top 3 projects will be selected, along with Honorable Mentions.

For questions, contact Dr. Brenda Brombacher, Director, Entrepreneurial Initiatives & Community Relations- Southwest, brenda.brombacher@hccs.edu.