United Hub and Harry Deng Launch Social Innovation Program for Youth

United Hub and Harry Deng are pleased to announce the launch of the Social Innovation Program, a new initiative designed to help young people turn ideas for addressing community challenges into testable engineering prototypes.

The program grew from their collaboration on the youth utility pole monitoring project. It will connect participants with funding, professional guidance, and practical community resources as they identify local needs, develop solutions, test their designs, and improve them through feedback.

Young people developing and testing an engineering prototype

Turning Community Ideas into Testable Projects

The Social Innovation Program is designed to support more than one technology or project. Its goal is to give young people opportunities to apply engineering skills to real community needs and receive the support required to move from an initial idea to a prototype that can be tested.

Participants will be encouraged to begin with a clearly defined community problem, build a team when appropriate, develop and refine a solution, and learn from testing and feedback.

Support for Selected Youth Led Projects

Selected projects will receive financial support and help connecting with resources that can make practical testing possible. Depending on each project, support may include:

• Professional mentors and technical guidance

• Connections with community organizations

• Testing environments and practical community resources

• Opportunities to present project work

• Funding to help advance prototypes and testing

Harry and the United Hub team are continuing to define the program's participation requirements, project-selection process, funding arrangements, and the specific resources available to each selected team.

Learning from the First Case Study

The youth utility pole monitoring project will serve as the program's first case study. It gives the team a practical model for examining each stage of youth-led innovation, from identifying a community problem and building a team to securing resources, completing a prototype, and preparing for real-world field testing.

Building the Program and Its Partnerships

As a founder of the Social Innovation Program, Harry connects the practical needs of youth-led engineering projects with United Hub's community resources. He is working with United Hub's executive team to develop the program's funding and partnership structure. Harry and the executive team are currently applying for support from the City of Bellevue Youth Climate Action Fund.

The team is also developing the program's support process, identifying professional mentors and testing environments, and exploring additional community issues that are suitable for youth-led projects. The next stage will focus on helping participants move their ideas toward prototypes that can be evaluated in practical settings.

Who Can Participate

Young people interested in using engineering, technology, or innovation to address a community challenge are encouraged to express interest in the program. Applicants may participate with an early idea, a developing project, or a prototype that needs additional resources, guidance, or testing opportunities.

How to Express Interest

Prospective applicants may send a short introduction that includes:

• The community problem they hope to address

• Their initial solution or project concept

• A brief description of the individual or team involved

• The funding, mentorship, testing environment, or other assistance they need

To learn more or express interest, contact wlee@uhub.ngo or harrydenglfc@gmail.com.

United Hub and Harry welcome inquiries from young people who want to develop practical responses to community needs and are ready to advance their ideas through prototyping, testing, and feedback.