Wooster Sophomore Advances to Final Round of Entrepreneurial Competition

Rakib Islam recognized by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) for “Project Maverick”

WOOSTER, Ohio — Rakib Islam, a rising sophomore at The College of Wooster, has advanced to the final round of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Ohio International Entrepreneurial Award competition.

The organization, which fosters global entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, and education, is dedicated to “the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community.” The focus is on “generating and nurturing (the) next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Islam’s proposed enterprise, titled "Project Maverick," was born of personal experience. As an international student from Bangladesh, Islam managed to wade through the massive amounts of information required to attend a college in another country, but without the benefit of campus visits or personal conversations with college counselors, he faced considerable challenges in the college-search process. “Some of us have made it here,” said Islam, “while others…dropped out from…the lack of information and the intimidation of the tedious process of filling out a gazillion forms.”

Project Maverick, through the sponsorship of colleges and universities, would be dedicated to making the information for studying abroad more readily accessible to students outside of the country, giving them a better chance of attending the college of their dreams while at the same time enabling colleges and universities to meet their international student targets.

Islam’s Wooster experience has been ”the gateway to a whole different nation and cultural landscape,” he said. Being in a setting like Wooster enabled him to develop a concept of what people from different backgrounds and locations are looking for. “If you are trying to make a relatively global product/service, you could not ask for a better way to learn to be able to address those needs.”

Having made it to the final four in the category of International Student Innovator, Islam remains humble about this achievement. “Now there is just so much competition in every industry, the only way to make your place in the market is to constantly improvise on perfection,” he said. “I am glad I was named a finalist, but this should only show that there is so much work left to be done.”

The winner of this award, and other TiE Ohio International Entrepreneurial Awards, will be announced on Sept. 20 at Windows on the River in Cleveland.

- Story by Libby Fackler ‘13