Virtual Solve at MIT

Solve at MIT, the flagship meeting of MIT Solve, was hosted virtually on May 12, 2020. Nearly 800 Solve community members gathered together on the virtual meeting platform, Hopin, to engage with each other and work to solve global Challenges using technology based solutions. At Virtual Solve at MIT 2020, they announced $1.7 million in prize funding available for 2020 Solver teams. The closing plenary was live streamed to the Solve website and drew thousands of viewers from around the world. The day-long event featured a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, an exercise break led by Olympian Pita Taufatofua, and discussions with notable speakers including General Motors Chairman and CEO, Mary Barra; MIT President L. Rafael Reif; and former Astronaut Cady Coleman. In the virtual environment, guests attended a series of plenary and breakout sessions. Facilitated sessions and social entrepreneur expo booths allowed the community to share ideas on-camera, while the networking function of the site paired event attendees and Solver teams together for one-on-one discussions. Empire worked with the Solve team to shift quickly from an in-person to wholly virtual event. Empire’s scope of work included consulting on run-of-show development, speaker advance, graphics package build-out, Hopin system buildout and testing, staff training, how-to video creation, technical production, broadcast, simulcast to multiple outlets, and the guest’s virtual experience.