
How do we work towards a greener world? Five CGI U students reimagine a sustainable future.
This year, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is scaling up its work to bring leaders together and take …
Inspiring the next generation of student leaders and global innovators to tackle pressing challenges in their communities
The CGI U 2022 and Verizon Forward for Good Applications have now closed. For those who submitted an application, you can expect to hear from our team about your application status in early March.
Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) is a dynamic community of young leaders committed to developing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
CGI U is a unique opportunity to connect aspiring leaders with leading experts in business, technology, and social impact. Each year, thousands of undergraduate and graduate students from across the country and around the world apply to participate in CGI U’s year-round community of learning, leadership, and action — beginning with a global meeting where participants, topic experts, and high-profile innovators convene to support and learn from each other.
Through its year-round program, CGI U helps develop the next generation of leaders and social entrepreneurs, by providing accepted undergraduate and graduate students with training and mentorship opportunities, access to a wide range of international experts and change agents, and invitations to networking events with their peers and program alumni.
CGI U offers one-of-a-kind training, resources, and personalized mentorship on how to ideate, design, implement, and evaluate a social impact project.
Through a year-round curriculum that includes student networking and engagement events, beginning with the global annual meeting, CGI U provides unique opportunities to connect aspiring leaders with leading experts in business, technology, social impact and each other.
CGI U participants are selected on the strength of their Commitment to Action. CGI U helps them formulate their ideas and provides the necessary resources, feedback, tools, and potential funding streams to turn their ideas into action.
Our cornerstone program, launched in 2007, supporting students across the world who have made Commitments to Action. Learn more about our CGI U year-long program.
An extension program supporting students and CGI U alumni in the U.S. in advancing projects that use leading-edge technology with the opportunity to earn a spot in an accelerator program, with access to seed funding and living stipends. Learn more about the Challenge with Verizon.
An extension program supporting students advancing equity in education through an international tech-driven case competition. Learn more about the Case Competition with IBM.
An extension program supporting students in the U.S. in building a more sustainable economic and fiscal future. Learn more about Up to Us.
Your gift will help us engage more student leaders, build more partnerships, and do even more to address today’s most pressing challenges.
Save the Date to join us on May 25, 2022 as President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton host our annual gala to benefit programs and partnerships that are expanding economic opportunity, improving public health, confronting the climate crisis, and inspiring citizen engagement and service.
CGI U is a year-round program that helps develop the next generation of leaders and social entrepreneurs by providing accepted undergraduate and graduate students with training and mentorship opportunities, access to a wide range of international experts and change agents, and networking and events with their peers.
To be considered, students need to make a commitment to take action on a major issue. This pledge – called a Commitment to Action – takes the form of a new, specific, and measurable plan to solve an issue identified on a college campus, within a local community, or a pressing national or global challenge.
Students accepted into the CGI U program receive an invitation to attend the annual CGI U meeting hosted by President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton in partnership with a different college or university each year.
The meeting convenes hundreds of student commitment-makers, alumni, university representatives, topic experts, and high-profile individuals to discuss how to turn ideas into action and address the world’s most pressing challenges.
As part of CGI U’s year-round programming, students have the opportunity to participate in events and competitions addressing the most pressing global challenges, often in collaboration with partner organizations or CGI U community members.
There are many ways to stay connected with CGI U once you have completed the year-round program. You are part of a growing global community of more than 11,000 commitment-makers who continue to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
CGI U is proud to partner with organizations dedicated to creating social impact in the next generation of student leaders, providing enriching opportunities and experiences for CGI U students and alumni, and supporting the year-round work of the CGI U program.
The CGI University Network consists of higher education institutions and professionals who support, mentor, and provide seed funding to the next generation of leaders on their respective campuses. Through the University Network, CGI U helps schools foster a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation, and global citizenship on college campuses across the world.
Verizon and CGI U are partnering for a second year to launch the Verizon Forward for Good Challenge. This Challenge encourages teams of current undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at U.S. institutions, and CGI U alumni, to leverage 5G and other leading-edge technology to advance equity within the U.S. The initiative is part of Citizen Verizon, Verizon’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement. The HBCU Founders Initiative and the United Negro College Fund are proud to join forces with Verizon and CGI U to inspire and support students through this Challenge. Finalists will receive access to intensive summer entrepreneurship training with accelerator partner VentureWell, seed funding, and living stipends to advance their solutions.
Since 2012, CGI U has partnered ¬¬with The Peter G. Peterson Foundation and Net Impact to organize the national student program Up to Us. Up to Us is the only nation-wide program that supports next-generation leaders to raise nonpartisan awareness around building a sustainable fiscal and economic future. Since 2012, student teams have engaged more than 300,000 of their peers through innovative and engaging campus activities. Students receive funding, training, and hand-on support over the semester to design and implement their own awareness campaign about our long-term fiscal and economic sustainability. Over the course of ten years, Up to Us has engaged over 1,200 campus competition teams, signed over 131,000 pledges, and engaged over 370,000 people.
As part of IBM’s Code and Response initiative, CGI U and IBM co-host virtual Code and Response Hackathons that engage the next generation of global leaders on college campuses to harness modern, emerging, and open source technologies to develop solutions tackling climate change and racial justice. Participating students have access to IBM technological resources and Clinton Foundation staff expertise to engage with and help bring ideas to life, and students from winning teams receive cash prizes and the opportunity to participate in the CGI U program. In 2020, over 59k students worldwide engaged in this virtual hackathon series, tackling challenges related to COVID-19 and climate change.
Through the COVID-19 Student Action Fund, made possible by Kevin Xu and members of the CGI University Network, students were provided early-stage seed–funding for projects addressing the public health, economic, and societal impacts of the novel coronavirus. Grants ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 — with commitments including awareness and prevention campaigns, social enterprises, infectious disease monitoring and response systems, and other emergency response initiatives that are providing immediate support for public health practitioners and other essential workers on the frontlines. In addition to receiving seed funding for their commitments, all selected students received invitations to participate in the CGI U 2021 program.
At the Clinton Foundation, we believe data should be used to guide how programs are designed and implemented. We leverage both quantitative and qualitative information in order to promote evidence-based decision-making and help the Foundation and our community of partners achieve greater results in people’s lives across the country and around the world.
from more than 160 countries and 137 institutions of higher education turning their ideas into action through CGI University
has been awarded to student commitment-makers through the CGI University Network.
Through CGI U, students make Commitments to Action to address pressing challenges in education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Explore featured commitments below.
This year, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is scaling up its work to bring leaders together and take …
As part of our Black History Month celebration, we’ve compiled a list of Black leaders we’ve had the …
Meet Charlie, Eugene, Alec, and Luis — four outstanding Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) student commitment-makers from …
This year, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is scaling up its work to bring leaders together and take …
As part of our Black History Month celebration, we’ve compiled a list of Black leaders we’ve had the …
Meet Charlie, Eugene, Alec, and Luis — four outstanding Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) student commitment-makers from …
This year’s virtual meeting will bring together more than 900 student leaders, CGI U alumni, higher education professionals, and entrepreneurs from across the globe to learn how to better serve their communities and act on pressing challenges.
This year’s virtual meeting will bring together more than 900 student leaders, CGI U alumni, higher education professionals, and entrepreneurs from across the globe to learn how to better serve their communities and act on pressing challenges.