Globally, one in three women face physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. That number soars to 92 percent of women in New Delhi, India.

Leveraging technology to improve this situation is the goal of the . The $1 million competition was created to incentivize leaders in innovation from around the world to develop transformative technologies that increase women鈥檚 safety and empower communities. The grand prize winner聽was announced in New York.

Out of nearly 100 registered teams, five made it to the final round. “Team Saffron” from the (GIX),聽a new model of experiential education founded by the 天美影视传媒, China’s Tsinghua University and Microsoft, traveled to New York, but another team was selected to receive the prize. This is the furthest that any UW team has ever made it in an XPRIZE competition.

The UW students have developed an inconspicuous wearable emergency device about the size of a half dollar. The device monitors physiological signals and allows the person wearing it to trigger an alert for help, even if the user is physically restrained. The team uses machine learning to process the signals produced by the user. Although small, their device has big potential.

鈥淭hrough technological innovations, we can make meaningful improvements to women鈥檚 safety that leads to lasting impact over time. We hope to contribute to making the world a safer place for women and communities around the world,鈥� said the team leader, Nicholas Becker, a UW doctoral student in electrical engineering and GIX dual-degree student.

鈥淗owever, technology alone cannot solve such a huge issue as women鈥檚 safety,鈥� Becker said. 鈥淟arge-scale change will be achieved when innovative technology solutions coincide with broader shifts in education, culture, society and support from the government. That is why Saffron was created.鈥�

鈥淭he role of technology is especially useful in places like India, where access to government-provided emergency services may not be widely available,鈥� said teammate Noah Hollmann, a fellow GIX student.

XPRIZE organizers say the winning team鈥檚 technology needs to autonomously and inconspicuously trigger an emergency alert while transmitting information to a network of community responders, all within 90 seconds. To facilitate accessibility, the manufacturing cost of the winning solution must be no more than $40 U.S. dollars.

鈥淪afety is a fundamental human right and should not be considered a luxury for women,鈥� said , the prize namesake and a Seattle-area philanthropist and entrepreneur.

Becker met teammate Yuntao Wang, a postdoctoral researcher in the GIX program at China鈥檚 Tsinghua University, where both were working on research in human-computer interactions. Becker learned about the XPRIZE and after collaborating with Wang on various research projects, the pair realized they could combine their experience to compete.

鈥淭he human-computer interaction research we were conducting together at the time had so much overlap with the Anu & Naveen Jain Women鈥檚 Safety XPRIZE, it was very good timing,鈥� Becker said.

Wang realized the pair shared expertise and passion to pursue solutions. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like this XPRIZE was made for GIX which heavily focuses on connected devices and Internet-of-Things solutions,鈥� he said.

The competitive landscape that Saffron is up against is tough. Of the mostly for-profit companies, some are established and have received prior funding. For the five-person university team, this is a big project with high stakes.

Still, the small UW team has the ability to be agile. Rather than adapt an existing device or business model to the prize, Team Saffron has built the technology from the ground up for this specific purpose.

In competition, Team Saffron had to prove its device鈥檚 effectiveness in an office environment, moving vehicles and an elevator shaft 鈥� scenarios that reflect real-world situations for women. They spent time in Mumbai, India, earlier this year testing the device in these settings.The device works, even if the user is physically restrained, for example, if someone鈥檚 hands and feet are bound. The device also works without having to reach and unlock their phone, which can save crucial time when women are in a dangerous situation.

Once activated, a number of people are notified. The authorities, and also a community of people including relatives, friends, loved ones and neighbors. It has potential to improve safety among women, especially in India where access to emergency services may be limited.

鈥淭his is very much a real issue in India,鈥� team member and fellow GIX student Zoe Zou said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge part of the story. Being female myself, this really motivates me to come up with a good solution to help the situation.鈥�

Teammate Archisa Guharoy, also a GIX student, has family in Mumbai. She said she knows of people who have experienced sexual violence. To her, participating in the challenge has been personal.

鈥淭he competition means a lot to me and my family,鈥� Guharoy said. 鈥淚 believe we have a real shot, I鈥檓 excited to win.鈥�

While the team has plans to start a company if they win, they鈥檒l be satisfied with the experience no matter the result.

鈥淓ven if we are not the winner, it鈥檚 a pretty amazing experience and a cause that is extremely important to us and for societal progress,鈥� Becker said.

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The MSTI degree will be the first U.S.-based program offered through the , a partnership between the 天美影视传媒 and Tsinghua University, with foundational support from Microsoft. GIX breaks down the barriers between theory and practice, offering students the opportunity to work on real-world challenges with faculty experts and industry professionals in a project-based, globally-focused learning environment.

Launching in fall 2017, the newly approved 15-month degree focuses on the technology development, design thinking, and entrepreneurial skills needed to invent, build and launch innovative products using connected devices 鈥� a vital element in the development of the 鈥淚nternet of Things.鈥� Under the guidance of leading UW professors and industry mentors, students will gain hands-on experience in the processes required to create new technology solutions, plus the business skills to bring them to market.

鈥淭he new master鈥檚 degree is a landmark in industry-academic collaboration across the university and with multiple external partners that creates a great opportunity for innovation readiness for top students across the world,鈥� said Vikram Jandhyala, Vice President for Innovation Strategy at the UW and co-CEO of GIX.

Following a cohort-based model, students in the new master’s program will advance together over five consecutive quarters through three experiential phases: preparation, practice and launch. Working in small teams, students will be immersed in a culture of rapid prototyping, ideation, critique and iteration, with practice pitching product ideas and getting customer feedback. In the launch phase, students will apply their learnings by developing a product idea far enough that it could solve a business challenge for an existing enterprise, become a startup venture, or simply demonstrate the student鈥檚 ability to build real-world solutions.

The multidisciplinary curriculum is integrated across the three phases of the program, including:

• Design-thinking courses that teach students how to create and communicate new technology ideas within a user-centered design process
• Software and hardware development, end-to-end prototyping, interface development, data management and machine learning
• Entrepreneurship courses covering team-building, startup funding, intellectual property law and marketing

鈥淭he program鈥檚 intent is to teach students just enough in each area to build their confidence in pursuing their own innovations in high-impact fields, such as health and sustainability, and improving standards of living both locally and globally,鈥� said Shwetak Patel, chief technology officer for GIX and UW鈥檚 Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Endowed Professor in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

Leveraging the strengths of GIX and close ties with China, students in the MSTI program will be part of an international cohort. 聽Students may choose to be part of a option which includes the opportunity to study in Beijing and earn a Master of Engineering in Information Technology from Tsinghua University, as well as the MSTI from UW.

鈥淭echnology innovation requires developing a global mindset to have a true impact,鈥� Patel said.

Job opportunities are exploding for innovators in the connected-device space, including mobile and wearable computing, smart objects and the Internet of Things. According to the company Wanted Analytics, for designers with these skills has risen by 322 percent since 2014, with 鈥渃reativity鈥� topping employer skill needs when hiring for Internet of Things positions.

For the 天美影视传媒, recently named the world鈥檚 by Reuters, the launch of this new master’s program is part of the university’s , an integrated approach to driving positive change through the empowerment of students to learn, discover and build solutions to tomorrow鈥檚 challenges.

Information on how to apply for the Master of Science in Innovation Technology starting in fall 2017 will be available in July. More details at: .

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For more information, contact gix@uw.edu.

The 天美影视传媒 and Tsinghua University have agreed to launch an integrated dual degree program through the that combines project-based learning in design thinking, technology development and entrepreneurship, leaders from both universities announced during an event Monday morning in Beijing.

It is the first dual degree program to be announced through GIX, a new model of learning designed to fuel innovation and foster collaborations on a worldwide scale. The dual degree program that will be jointly designed and taught by both faculties is expected to launch in the fall of 2016. After one year of study in Tsinghua, students will move to the new GIX location in Bellevue, Washington, which will be ready by fall 2017. After that, new students will start from GIX each year.

The dual degree program coherently integrates the (MSTI) program from the UW and Master of Engineering in Information Technology (MEIT) program from Tsinghua. The integrated program focuses on creating innovative user experiences with connected devices and other technologies, as well as developing entrepreneurial skills to bring them to market. After completing the entire program, the student will receive a MSTI degree from the UW and a MEIT degree from Tsinghua.

“This dual degree program will provide students with a truly global education, giving them the chance to work with partners around the world on the challenges of our time. It will be a unique opportunity for the next generation of innovators, and it’s one that is only possible through the partnership such as the one we have with Tsinghua University,” said , UW President.

Housed in a new facility under development in Bellevue’s Spring District, GIX will pioneer new models of teaching and learning that prepare students to succeed and make meaningful contributions in a 21^st century global economy. The partnership between the UW and Tsinghua will grow with additional degree and certificate programs and fields of study over the next decade.

With foundational support from Microsoft 鈥� and through future partnerships with other world-class companies and additional research universities 鈥� students will have access to top faculty, innovators and entrepreneurs. Under the guidance of UW and Tsinghua faculty, as well as industry mentors, students will develop product ideas that solve a specific problem or address a global challenge, collaborate in small teams to take an idea to prototype and prepare to turn concepts into viable business ventures.

The dual degree program announced Monday will emphasize:

• Design thinking, or researching and considering needs of end users before launching into development
• Software and hardware development, particularly around connected devices that accelerate development of the Internet of Things, improve health or solve global challenges
• Entrepreneurship, from learning how to raise venture capital to mass manufacturing products
• Project-based learning that embraces risk-taking, failure and other ingredients that are essential to innovation
• Exposure to processes and thought leaders in two world-class 鈥� but very different 鈥� innovation hubs on opposite sides of the world

“Innovation requires you to understand users so you build the right thing, know enough about the technology to prototype it and demonstrate it, and know how to pitch it and convey its importance. This is going to be an intensive, integrated educational program in all these areas,” said , chief technology officer for GIX and UW’s Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Endowed Professor in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

“Students will also get to compare and contrast what innovation looks like in two very different parts of the world,鈥� Patel said. 鈥淗ow do you do manufacturing in China? What are the important problems? How does raising venture capital work in the U.S? Usually we only see half of that equation, and this will expose students to what the future of technological innovation looks like through an international lens.”

The UW MSTI is currently under review by the Graduate School, which must approve all new degree programs.

For more information, contact Victor Balta in Seattle at 206-543-2580 or balta@uw.edu, or Jack Martin at jacktm@uw.edu.