Accenture Innovation Challenge

The Accenture Innovation Challenge (AIC) is a case competition that serves as one of Accenture’s signature recruiting channels across all our target campuses. Last year, more than 2000 undergraduates applied to participate, representing over 60 campuses and diversity partner organizations.

Accenture collaborates with a new nonprofit partner every year to identify a real-world pressing issue, structure a case challenge, and facilitate a competition for student teams to present dynamic solutions for the non-profit partner.

Join us to help a non-profit organization solve a business challenge and create impact.

Application Deadline: Friday, December 13

Participants Selected: Friday, December 20

First Round: Thursday, February 6

Semi-Final: Friday, February 14

Final Round: Friday, February 28

The final round of the Innovation Challenge will occur in-person at Accenture’s Washington, D.C. office all covered by us!

First Round

Successful applicants are assigned to a team of up to four students, are paired with an Accenture consultant coach, and given one week to prepare a solution to the case question. Three teams from each first round event advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-Final

Teams refine their solution over 1 week and submit a revised, written presentation for Accenture judges to review. Four finalist teams are selected to advance to the final round.

Final Round

In this final round event, four teams are invited to travel to present their solution live to a panel of judges comprised of Accenture and our non-profit partner. The winning team is offered a Summer 2026 internship!

The Accenture U.S. Innovation Challenge is open to legal United States residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who are 18 years of age or older (19 for residents of AL and NE) at the time of entry and are enrolled full time in a four-year degree undergraduate program, authorized to work in the United States, and will receive an undergraduate Bachelors of Arts or Bachelor’s of Science upon graduation in December 2026 – August 2027.

The following promotion is intended for participants in the United States only, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and shall be construed and evaluated according to the laws of the United States and Puerto Rico. Do not proceed in this promotion if you are not a legal resident of the United States or Puerto Rico. Further eligibility restrictions are contained in the Official Rules below.

1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT ENHANCE CHANCES OF WINNING.

2. PARTICIPATION ELIGIBILITY: The Accenture U.S. Cross-Campus Innovation Competition (the “Competition”), brought to you by Accenture LLP (the “Sponsor” or “Accenture”), is governed by these Official Rules. The Competition is open to legal United States residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who are 18 years of age or older (19 for residents of AL and NE) at the time of entry and are enrolled full time in a four-year degree undergraduate program, authorized to work in the United States, and will receive an undergraduate Bachelors of Arts or Bachelors of Science upon graduation in December 2026 – August 2027. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sponsor reserves the right, at any time, to verify eligibility requirements in any manner it deems appropriate. Employees (including contractors, interns, and externs) and directors of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, licensees, advertising, promotion or production agencies and provider companies and their immediate family members and individuals residing in their same household are not eligible to participate. Immediate family member is defined as a parent, sibling, or any person residing in the same household as an employee or director of Sponsor. Individuals actively interviewing for full-time or internship roles of Sponsor are not eligible to participate. All entries become the exclusive property of Sponsor.

3. THE COMPETITION PERIOD: The Competition begins on or after January 1, 2025, at 12:00:01 a.m. Central Time (“CT”) and will conclude by April 30, 2025, at 11:59:59 p.m. CT (“Competition Period”). The official dates of the rounds of the competition are subject to change at the discretion of the Sponsor and will be announced no later than one (1) calendar week in advance to all participants. The computer of the Sponsor is the official timekeeping device for this Competition.

4. HOW TO ENTER:

To participate in the Competition, all Candidates must (1) navigate to the Accenture Innovation Challenge landing page (“Competition Web Site”), (2) click on the Apply Here” registration link to navigate to the FY25 Registration Portal (“Registration Form”), (3) complete all requested information on the Registration Form, including all questions on the personal information section, job specific questions, work history, and education. By submitting this Registration Form, the student agrees to receive e-mails and/or SMS messages from Sponsor related to this Competition. Undergraduate Candidates may not register with multiple email addresses nor may entrants use any other device or artifice to register multiple times or as multiple registrants. Any Undergraduate Candidate who attempts to enter with multiple e-mail addresses, under multiple identities, or uses any device or artifice to register multiple times will be disqualified and forfeit any and all prizes won at Sponsor’s discretion. Sponsor is not responsible for any change of e-mail address, mailing address, and/or telephone number of Undergraduate Candidates or for any Undergraduate Candidate’s inability to receive notification pertaining to the Competition, or to submit an Entry. PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT OR INTERVIEW FOR EMPLOYMENT.

Students selected to participate will be notified by email at the email address used to submit their resume during Registration and/or the email addresses listed in the submitted resume. Candidate teams (“Teams”) will be compiled by Sponsor from the pool of Candidates, and any team requests from Candidates will not be considered by Sponsor in Team selection. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, will select a maximum of four participants per team from the eligible candidate applicants. The FY25 Challenge First and Semi-Final Rounds will be conducted virtually; any travel expenses incurred for Final Round participants will be paid for by the Sponsor. Students will be invited to participate in the competition based on their interest in Accenture, high potential, and resumes. Participants will be selected and notified of their Team no later than one calendar week before the competition date.

5. THE COMPETITION:  Prior to the First Round, each selected Team will receive competition materials (“Business Case”) containing information about the non-profit client, the Special Olympics, (“Non-Profit Organization”), instructions, and specific criteria for the work product (“Proposal”), which will be created as a team in the First Round working session (“Working Session”) and First Round Presentation Day (“First Round Presentation”).

Candidates may only be part of one (1) Team. Actual time of each First Round Presentation may vary. Each Team shall create a Proposal which meets the criteria set forth in the Business Case provided. Proposals must meet the format and file size requirements as set out by the Sponsor and meet the Entry Requirements in Section 6 below to be eligible to win the Competition. Proposals must be submitted by email by the deadline provided by the Sponsor. Email submissions must contain the team members’ names and the collective team’s name. A panel of at minimum two (2) qualified judges selected by the Sponsor (“Judges”) will review the Proposals. Up to sixteen (16) teams will be selected to compete in the Semi-Final Round based on the Judging Criteria (“Semi-Finalist Teams”).

Each Semi-Finalist Team that is selected for the Semi-Final Round must submit an updated version of their Proposals (“Semi-Finalist Proposals”). Semi-Finalist Teams must submit Semi-Finalist Proposals by email by 11:59:59 p.m. CT on the fifth business day after they are notified that they have been invited to proceed in the Competition (“Semi-Finalist Proposal Deadline”). By way of example, if a team had its First Round Presentation on February 10, 2025, and was selected for the Semi-Finalist Round, the Semi-Finalist Proposal would have to be submitted no later than February 17, 2025, at 11:59:59 p.m. CT. The exact deadline date will be communicated by the Sponsor to all Semi-finalist Teams. Semi-Finalist Proposals submitted after the Semi-Finalist Proposal Deadline communicated via email will not be accepted and the team may be disqualified. Email submissions must contain the team members’ names and collective team name. All Semi-Finalist Proposals must meet the Entry requirements in Section 6 below and adhere to the format and file size requirements as set out by the Sponsor to be eligible to win the Competition. Once a Semi-Finalist Proposal is submitted through email, it becomes the property of the Sponsor and teams will not be able to edit or change the Semi-Finalist Proposal. Limit one Semi-Finalist Proposal per Team. Candidates may only be part of one (1) Team.

A panel of qualified Judges will review the Semi-Finalist Proposals virtually; there will be no team presentations for the Semi-final Round. Four (4) Semi-Finalist Teams will be selected to compete in the Final Round based on the Judging Criteria (“Finalist Teams”).

Each Finalist Team that is selected for the Final Round must submit an updated version of their Proposals (“Finalist Proposals”). All Finalist Proposals must be submitted by email by 11:59pm on the deadline date, which will be indicated to Teams when they are notified that they have been selected as a Finalist Team. Email submissions must contain the team members’ names and the collective team’s name. Finalist Proposals submitted after the Finalist Proposal Deadline may not be accepted and the team may be disqualified. All Finalist Proposals must meet the Entry requirements in Section 6 below and adhere to the format and file size requirements as set out by the Sponsor to be eligible to win the Competition. Once a Finalist Proposal is submitted through email, it becomes the property of the Sponsor and teams will not be able to edit or change the Finalist Proposal. Limit one Finalist Proposal per Team.

6.  ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: By submitting a Proposal (“Entry”) in the Competition, you hereby warrant and represent that your Entry conforms to the Entry Requirements set forth herein.

• Entry cannot be sexually explicit or suggestive, unnecessarily violent, or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group, profane or pornographic, or contain nudity;

• Entry cannot promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), or any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;

• Entry cannot promote any political agenda or message;

• Entry cannot be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group;

• Entry cannot defame, misrepresent, or contain disparaging remarks about Sponsor or its products, or other people, products or companies;

• Entry cannot contain trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by others, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses;

• Entry cannot contain copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media or musical “samples” other than the musical tracks provided) without permission;

• Entry cannot contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, other than entrant without permission;

• Entry cannot communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Sponsor wishes to associate; and

• Entry cannot depict, and cannot itself, be in violation of any law.

BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, ENTRANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HIS/HER ENTRY MAY BE POSTED ON SPONSOR’S WEBSITE AND/OR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, AT SPONSOR’S DISCRETION. Sponsor reserves the right to monitor/screen entries before posting them to the Sponsor’s Website. By entering, you acknowledge that Sponsor has no obligation to use or post any Entry you submit. Submission of an Entry grants Sponsor and its agents an unlimited, worldwide, perpetual, license and right to publish, use, publicly perform the Entry in any way and in any/all media, without limitation, and without consideration to the entrant.

By submitting an Entry, each Team and Team member warrants and represents that it: (a) is the Team’s original work, (b) has not been previously published, (c) has no previous awards, (d) does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity; (e) that the Team has obtained permission from any person(s) who’s name, likeness or voice is used in the Entry and (f) and that publication of the Entry via various media including Web posting will not infringe on the rights any third party rights. Any such entrant will indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor from any claims to the contrary.

7. JUDGING AND WINNER SELECTION:

First Round: At the end of each Working Session, the relevant Proposal will be evaluated by a panel of qualified Judges selected by the Sponsor. Judges will evaluate each eligible Proposal based on the following criteria (“First Round Judging Criteria”):

• Structured Problem Solving (25%)

• Feasibility of Solution (25%)

• Effective Communication & Story Telling (20%)

• Understanding the Client & Challenge (15%)

• Innovative Approach (10%)

• Participation (5%)

Three (3) Teams from each First Round Location with the highest scores for their Proposals based on the First Round Judging Criteria, as determined by the Judges, will be selected to participate in the Semi-Final Round. The Sponsor reserves the right to amend the Judging Criteria.

If Sponsor does not receive enough eligible and qualified Proposals, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer than three Semi-Finalist Team from each First Round event. All decisions of Judges are final and binding. Semi-Finalist Teams will be announced at each event.

Semi-Finalist Round: Semi-Finalist Teams will submit a presentation for the Semi-Finalist Round which will be reviewed and scored virtually. The Judges will evaluate all eligible Semi-Finalist Proposals based on the following criteria (“Semi-Finalist Judging Criteria”):

• Understanding the Client & Challenge (25%)

• Effective Communication (25%)

• Feasibility of Solution (20%)

• Structured Problem Solving (20%)

• Innovative Approach (10%)

The Sponsor reserves the right to amend the Judging Criteria. The four (4) Semi-Finalist Teams with the top scores based on the Semi-Finalist Judging Criteria will be selected as the “Finalist Teams.” In case of a tie, the Semi-Finalist Team with the highest score in the first criteria will be selected as the Finalist Team. If there is still a tie, the Semi-Finalist Team with the highest score in the second criteria will be selected as the Finalist Team, and so forth. Accenture reserves the right to at any time replace a dropped-out team with a team from a previous round.

Final Round:

The Judges will evaluate all eligible Finalist Proposals based on the following criteria (“Finalist Judging Criteria”):

• Feasibility of Solution (25%)

• Understanding the Client & Challenge (20%)

• Effective Communication & Story Telling (20%)

• Innovative Approach (20%)

• Structured Problem Solving (15%)

The Finalist Teams will present (“Final Proposal”) to a panel of Managing Directors and senior leaders of non-profit organizations or companies selected at Sponsor’s discretion, which may include the non-profit organizations or companies in the Business Cases (“Panel”), (“Final Event”). All members of the Finalist Teams must be present at the Final Event in order to be eligible to win the Competition. The Final Round event is expected to be in-person, however, the Sponsor reserves the right to change the Final Round to a virtual event if it is determined unsafe or not feasible to conduct an in-person event. The Final Event date and location will be announced no later than one (1) calendar week before the event.

The Sponsor reserves the right to amend the Judging Criteria. The Panel will evaluate all eligible Final Proposals according to the Finalist Judging Criteria. One (1) Finalist Team with the top scores based on the Finalist Judging Criteria will be selected as the “Winner”. In the event of a tie, the Finalist Team with the highest score in the first criteria will be selected as the Winner. If there is still a tie, the Finalist Team with the highest score in the second criteria will be selected as the Winner, and so forth. Finalist Teams will be notified who the Winners are at the end of the Panel Event.

By accepting a prize, the Winner and each of their members agree that their Entry (which includes all contents of the Final Proposal) will be deemed a Work Made For Hire under the Copyright laws of the United States, but if it cannot be so deemed, then the Winner irrevocably assigns and transfers to Sponsor all of his/her right, title and interest in and to his/her Entry, including all but not limited to all copyright and trademark rights which he or she may have, in the United States and worldwide, therein, for consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged. Winner hereby waives in favor of Sponsor, all rights of “Droit Moral” or “Moral Rights of Authors” or any similar rights or principles of law that winner may now or later have to their Entry. Sponsor reserves the right to alter, change or modify the winning Entry, in its sole discretion. Upon request of Sponsor, Winning members shall execute and deliver such additional instrument of assignment, as may be solely deemed by Sponsor, reasonably necessary to establish the ownership of record of the right, title and interest in and to the Entry and of the copyrights transferred and “Moral Rights of Authors” waived under these Official Rules. Should Sponsor fail to request the said assignment as stated, that shall not be deemed a waiver of Sponsor’s rights and Sponsor may at a later time request the assignment. Further, the Sponsor may request from Winner, that the members secure from any model(s) or videographer an irrevocable assignment and transfer to Sponsor all of any model(s) or videographer’s right, title and interest in and to the winner’s Entry, including all but not limited to all copyright and trademark rights which he or she may have, in the United States and worldwide, therein, for consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged. The model(s) or videographer may be required to waive in favor of Sponsor, all rights of “Droit Moral” or “Moral Rights of Authors” or any similar rights or principles of law that the model(s) or videographer may now or later have in the Entry. Should Sponsor fail to request the said model(s) assignment or videographer assignment as stated, that shall not be deemed a waiver of Sponsor’s rights and Sponsor may at a later time request the assignment(s).

ENTRIES ARE NOT EDITED BY SPONSOR AND ARE THE VIEWS/OPINIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL ENTRANT/TEAM AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF SPONSOR IN ANY MANNER. Any waiver of any obligation hereunder by Sponsor does not constitute a general waiver of any obligation to entrants.

By submitting an Entry, you agree that your submission is gratuitous and made without restriction, and will not place Sponsor under any obligation, further, that Sponsor is free to disclose or otherwise disclose the ideas contained in the Entry on a non-confidential basis to anyone or otherwise use the ideas without any additional compensation to you. You acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission, Sponsor does not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Sponsor, or developed by its employees, or obtained from sources other than you.

Competition Winner will be notified in person during the Final Event (“Winner Announcement”), or during the live virtual Final Event if a virtual setting is necessary to mitigate health risk. Winner Announcement may be rescheduled at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.

Final Event travel bookings including airfare and accommodations will be provided to the members of the Finalist Teams from a major commercial airport near the Finalist Team member’s residence to the Final Round location. Meals during travel will also be compensated by Accenture. All members of each of the Finalist Teams must travel on same itinerary. Gratuities, luggage fees, incidental hotel charges and any other unspecified travel-related expenses are the sole responsibility of each member of Finalist Teams. Finalist Teams members are solely responsible for having all necessary identification and/or travel documents (e.g., a valid U.S. driver’s license or Passport) required for travel. Airline tickets are non-refundable/non-transferable and are not valid for upgrades and/or frequent flyer miles. All airline tickets are subject to flight variation, work stoppages, and schedule or route changes. If in the judgment of Sponsor, air travel is not required due to Finalist Team’s proximity to local office ground transportation will be substituted for roundtrip air travel at Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any cancellations, delays, diversions or substitution or any act or omissions whatsoever by the air carriers, hotels, venue operators, transportation companies, prize providers or any other persons providing any prize-related services or accommodations. Members of Finalist Teams are also responsible for obtaining travel insurance (and all other forms of insurance) at their option and hereby acknowledge that Sponsor has not and will not obtain or provide travel insurance or any other form of insurance. Lost, stolen or damaged airline tickets, travel vouchers or certificates will not be replaced or exchanged.

If the event is unable to be conducted in person, guidance will be provided to facilitate virtual attendance.

8. PRIZE DETAILS:

If a student interviews with the Sponsor during their participation in the competition and does not ‘pass’ the interview, the student is allowed to continue participating in the competition but will not be eligible for any internship offers.

Finalists: Finalists will receive (1) an automatic first round interview for an internship with Accenture in the Summer of 2026.

Winners: Winners will receive (1) an internship offer with Accenture in the Summer of 2026.

Sponsor makes no representation or guarantee that any member of the Finalists or Winners will be selected for an internship or offered employment. The decision of whether to offer an internship to any member of Finalists or Winners and the terms of any such internship, including the type of internship offered, are at the sole discretion of Sponsor. Finalists, and Winners are subject to eligibility to work now and in the future in the United States without sponsorship and ability to meet the Sponsor’s employment criteria for their campus.

Prizes are non-transferable and no cash equivalent or substitution of prize is offered, except at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

9. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: Participants agree (a) to these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which are final and binding, (b) that Sponsor and the subjects of the Business Cases, including, but not limited to the Special Olympics, their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, advertising and promotion agencies, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents will have no liability whatsoever for, are released and shall be held harmless by participants against any liability for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in this Competition or Competition-related activities or use of the Entry and (c) except where legally prohibited, participants grant (and agree to confirm that grant in writing) permission to Sponsor and those acting under Sponsor’s authority the right to the use of his/her name, photograph, likeness, voice, image and biographical information and statements and the Entry for advertising, trade, publicity and promotional purposes without additional compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review or approval.

10. DISQUALIFICATION POLICY: Participants may be immediately disqualified from the contest for any of the following reasons:

1. Violating school policies or regulations

2. Engaging in any illegal activities

3. Cheating or attempting to gain an unfair advantage

4. Behaving in a manner that disrupts the contest or harms other participants

5. Failing to adhere to the specific rules and guidelines of the contest

The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any participant at their discretion for actions deemed detrimental to the integrity of the contest.

11.  PRIVACY NOTICE:  Accenture is committed to protecting your information security. Your information will be used in accordance with any applicable data privacy law, our internal policies and our privacy policy and will be held securely. Accenture will not share your personal information with any third party, except as needed to manage the events or features for which you register. By using our website, you agree that we can place cookies on your device. See our privacy policy for details.

E-mail addresses, phone numbers and any other information provided to the Sponsor will be used only for the purpose of contacting potential winners. Email addresses, phone numbers and any other information provided Sponsor will not be sold or otherwise provided to any third party. If you are selected as a participant, your name, university, city, and state of residence may also be included in a publicly available participant or winner’s list.

12. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION: All members of Semi-Finalist and Finalist Teams will be required to complete, sign, and return a Statement of Eligibility, a Liability Release, a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and, where lawful, a Publicity Release within seven (7) days after notification. If documents are not returned on a timely basis, or if any prize notification or prize is returned as non-deliverable, or if a Team or any of its members is found to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, such prize will be forfeited by the noncompliant team member(s) only. Should a prize be won by a minor, all affidavits, releases and other documents must be executed by the parent or legal guardian of the minor, on behalf of himself and the minor, or prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Prize may be awarded in the name of, or to, minor winner’s parent or legal guardian. Taxes on a prize are solely the responsibility of the Winner.

13. GENERAL PROVISIONS: Neither Sponsor nor its agencies are responsible for not receiving Entries, no matter what the reason even if known in advance, or other errors of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic or network, incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry, or the failure to capture any such information. Persons who tamper with any aspect of the Competition, as solely determined by the Sponsor, or who attempt to participate with multiple email addresses or under multiple identities will be disqualified. Any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed or like entry methods will void all such entries and disqualify any entrant using such methods. Should any portion of the Competition be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, technical failures or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Competition. (VOID in Puerto Rico and in states where different local rules apply). In case of dispute, the authorized subscriber of the email or cell phone account used to enter the Competition at the actual time of entry will be deemed to be the participant and must comply with these Official Rules.

14. GOVERNING LAW AND ARBITRATION: This Competition will be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of Illinois, without application of any conflicts of law rules. Disputes between the Parties or their affiliates related to this Competition shall be submitted to final, binding arbitration heard by a single arbitrator in accordance with the then-current Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (except as modified herein). Any counterclaim not brought within thirty (30) days after receipt of the arbitration notice shall be barred. The arbitration shall be conducted in Cook County, Illinois in English. Unless otherwise specified herein, the arbitrator may award any relief that he or she deems proper, including but not limited to equitable relief. The award shall be final and binding and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

15. WINNER’S LIST: Winner’s names and state of residence will be posted to the Competition Website within one month of the Final Round competition and will remain available for no fewer than three (3) months.

16. SPONSOR: The Sponsor of this promotion is Accenture LLP, 500 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661. Do not send correspondence to this address.