Map the System Competition at UNC

Are you ready to change the world?

Tackling the world’s greatest challenges starts with understanding a problem and its wider context. Join the competition to explore, probe and research the issues that matter to you, and share your findings with the world.

Map the System is a global competition focused on exploring the wider context of social and environmental issues. The UNC final competition includes cash prizes for current UNC students and the winning team will compete in the semi-regional final competition this year. One team from the semi-regional finals will be chosen to attend the competition in Oxford. Innovate Carolina will provide travel stipends to every current UNC student who is selected to attend the final competition.

What you’ll experience

By participating in the Map the System competition, you will have the opportunity to gain experience in many areas:

• Research a social or environmental problem that matters to you.
• Gain skills in systems thinking to understand ways to address your chosen problem.
• Gain exposure to career paths and professional endeavors across multiple industries.
• Hone your skills: research, presentations, pitches, and more.
• Connect with other students, faculty, staff and professionals with a passion for social and environmental change.
  

The most recent team that traveled to the global finals at Oxford University in the United Kingdom experienced the international competition – and so much more. They had the chance to meet with other students, faculty, entrepreneurs, business leaders and public policy experts from around the world – all of whom are interested in transformational change. Over the course of a weekend, team members participated in educational workshops, engaging presentations and networking events. They walked away from this cultural experience better informed and highly inspired by ideas for using systems thinking in ways that they never considered to solve problems they never knew existed.

2024-2025 Key dates

• November 7 – Virtual Information Session
• January 14 – In Person Information Session 
• January 21 – Team Mixer: Bring Your Idea and Mingle
• January 31 – Team Registration Due
• February – Research Workshop with Nancy Lovas
• April 6  – UNC Student Submissions Due
• April 17 – UNC Finals
• July – Map the System @ University of Oxford
  

Eligibility

The Map the System competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill. No experience in systems mapping is necessary. Individuals who are not part of the UNC–Chapel Hill community are also eligible to join a team. However, all teams in the competition must be comprised of at least one UNC-Chapel Hill student or recent graduate and have a maximum of five active team members. If you would like help finding team members with similar interests, email us at mapthesystem@unc.edu. We can connect you with potential teammates.

Map the System at Oxford University

Map the System is run by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, in partnership with educational institutions across the world who each run the competition at their institution. On the Oxford site, you will find winning submissions from previous Global Finals, list of past judges, FAQs, and much more.

Resources

Join the Map the System GroupMe to ask questions, connect with other interested students and find a team.

• Register your team
• Research guide
• Oxford Map the System page

How to register

Registrations for the 2023-24 Map the System competition will open in the fall. If you have questions, please email anise.robinson@unc.edu. Watch the fall information session here.

System Thinking Experts

System thinking advisors offer guidance to teams in the use of systems thinking, regardless of the project.

Faculty Mentors

Faculty mentors help and advise teams working on projects that fall within their scope of expertise.

Story spotlights

Program partners

Previous UNC finalists

2024

In 2024, nine student teams registered to compete for the local competition at UNC-Chapel Hill. The top three teams competed in the UNC finals in April 2024.

• “Breaking the Silence: The Untold Stories of Women with PCOS and Endometriosis” by Lily Goldberg, Sanjana Murthy, and Sarah Sutter
• “Monumental Shifts: Understanding Diversity in North Carolina Statues” by Phanisree Akshinthala, Won Yoon, Caroline Parker, Samantha Hamburger, and Alexandra Rose.
• “The Forgotten Learners: A Systematic Analysis of Out of School Children in Nigeria” by Riley Harper, Daniels Akpan, Heather Gray, and Tijjani Mukaddas
• The Breaking the Silence team was selected to represent the University at the Systems Thinking Summit in Banff, in Calgary Canda. They were able to display their work and learn from systems thinking experts from around the globe.

>>Read more about their experience.

2023

In 2023, 16 student teams registered to compete for the local competition at UNC-Chapel Hill. The top four teams competed in the spring 2023 finals.

• “Barriers to Positive Health Outcomes” by Marcellos J. Allison
• “Hands HIV/AIDS Network for Disaster Survivors” by Lauren Fidelak and Cotie San
• “Interface of Nutrition Insecurity and Healthcare” by Blanch Covington Brown
• “The Heart of Carolina” by Matthew Palmer, Maria Esposito, Kathyn Kennedy, Summer Peterson, and Asia Carter
• “The Whole Student” by Deborah Shoola, Aaron Carpenter, Lily Goldberg, Riley Harper, Rachel Smith, and Hanqi Xiao
• The Whole Student team was selected to represent the University at the virtual regional finals and won a spot at the global finals at the University of Oxford where they presented their work on the international stage.

>> Learn more about their experience.

2022

In 2022, more than 40 student teams registered for the local competition at UNC-Chapel Hill. Four top teams competed in the UNC campus finals:

• “Food Insecurity in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, D.C”. by Eugenia Chow and Jaya Dayal
• “Unheard Voices: A Systemic Investigation of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Crisis” by Abigail Rinderle and Adora Nsonwu
• “Studentification: The Growing Problem of Student Housing in American College Towns” by Sita Tayal and Charlotte Dorn
• “Maternal Mortality: Illuminating SPARCS (Systems, Paradigms, and Restorative Community Solutions) for Maternal Health Equity in North Carolina” by Hiba Fatima, Sana Behnam-asl, Doyoung Kim, Raunak Mahtani and Sharita R. Thomas

The Maternal Mortality team was selected to represent the University in the Map the System Global Finals. This team traveled to Oxford University, where it competed with 64 colleges and universities from 21 countries. Watch team member Sharita R. Thomas describe her experience using systems as a problem-solving method.

2021

In 2021, four teams competed in the UNC-Chapel Hill campus finals. The Rising Waters team was selected to represent the University in the Map the System Global Finals. Watch all four Carolina finalist teams deliver their presentations during the 2021 UNC Innovation Showcase.

2020

In 2020, the top team from UNC-Chapel Hill placed third in the international Map the System competition by delivering a virtual presentation at the global finals hosted by Oxford University. The UNC team (named Using Systems Science to Advance Health Equity in Tobacco Control) used systems science to better understand racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in smoking and to identify opportunities for change. Watch the team’s presentation during the final global round.