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NC State Jenkins MBA Student is Finalist in Innovative Design Award Competition

When Eric Flood, a first-year MBA student in the NC State Poole College Jenkins Graduate School of Management and a Consumer Innovation Consortium fellow, created Capitl as part of his undergraduate senior capstone project, he never imagined it would lead him to New York City. 

But, on October 2, Flood attended Fast Company’s first-ever Innovation by Design Conference, where he was one of 54 finalists for the Innovation by Design Awards.

Flood, shown holding his Innovation by Design award, describes Capitl as an interactive tool that aggregates political data and journalism to crowdsource support for a variety of civic issues. 

“I applied to the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards on a whim.  I knew it would be a competitive field but thought Capitl could have an impact on our current socio-political climate by helping citizens contribute to positive change,” he said.

As an awards finalist attending the Innovation by Design Conference, Flood was able to meet with like-minded students and company representatives from organizations like Google dedicated to social entrepreneurship. 

Flood is focusing his NC State MBA experience on the intersection of design and technology, and the role that business plays in supporting innovations that make differences in people’s lives.

“There are so many problems just waiting to be solved,” he said.  “Understanding the deeper impact of socially conscious design through a business lens is important to me and a skill I think my MBA experience at NC State will help me to develop.”

Flood expects to complete his MBA in 2015 with dual concentrations in marketing and entrepreneurship.  He earned his undergraduate degree from NC State’s College of Design and is from Holly Springs, N.C.

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Photo: by Emiliano Granado for Fast Company