Originally published on Berkeley News 

Ask elementary school kids to think like Berkeley-trained entrepreneurs and you get ideas like these:

School supplies that have hidden compartments for candy and snacks. A machine that can recycle paper right in your own home. Scanners that can tell when someone is being bullied and alert a teacher. Sunglasses that have built-in bluetooth speakers, a Google-glass-like screen, and, for an extra $200, night vision.

The ideas came from youngsters mentored this semester by MBA candidates at the Haas School of Business.

Every other week during the semester-long program, Haas students visited fourth and fifth graders at Emerson Elementary School in North Oakland and helped them think like entrepreneurs.

The curriculum culminated in a “Shark-Tank”-like competition — called Cheetah Tank, after the Emerson mascot — where the students came to a Haas classroom in Cal’s Memorial Stadium and, along with their mentors, presented their ideas to a panel of judges. The winning teams walked away with tickets to an A’s game or the Exploratorium.

To learn more about the mentorship program between MBA Students and Emerson Elementary School, visit the full article on Berkeley Haas Newsroom.