WELLESLEY, Mass., Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson College has announced its membership to The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Network to help spur the growth of innovative student projects that will take on some of the world's greatest challenges.

As part of CGI U's Network program, Babson students will take action to create positive change in five focus areas: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

The CGI U Network is a growing consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to leading student innovators and entrepreneurs on their respective campuses.

"Our partnership with CGI U is a visionary match as well," said Babson's Cheryl Kiser, Executive Director,The Lewis Institute and The Babson Social Innovation Lab, "As the educator of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(r), Babson is dedicated to educating entrepreneurial leaders who create economic and social value everywhere. Through our Entrepreneurial Thought And Action(r) methodology, we can help CGI U in its efforts to shape tomorrow's global leaders."

CGI U students come together at its annual meeting to hear from experts in various fields, brainstorm ideas, share best practices, and form effective partnerships. Students develop "commitments to action" across the five focus areas to implement upon return to their campuses and communities.

The CGI 2013 annual meeting will be held April 5-7 at Washington University in St. Louis and will bring together nearly 1,200 attendees. The meeting is free to attend, and students can apply at: www.cgiu.org

President Bill Clinton launched CGI University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders from college campuses around the world.

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(tm). The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society -- while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action(r) as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

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SOURCE Babson College