About Catalyst Day

Catalyst Day — held each fall and spring — is designed to showcase Ripon College’s Catalyst curriculum and celebrate the achievements of the students who are completing the capstone seminar in Applied Innovation. The theme for Catalyst Day reflects Ripon’s institutional commitments to sustainability and innovation. Throughout the day, attendees will have the opportunity to watch student presentations that tackle worldwide issues.

The Challenges

Catalyst 300 students are tasked with developing solutions to prominent real-world issues outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. After Catalyst students are assigned one of these challenges, they demonstrate their mastery of applied innovation by identifying a location where their challenge exists and working collaboratively to propose viable solutions. The topics are outlined below.