ISSIP Renews Collaboration with University of Washington Tacoma

Partnership to Advance FinTech Innovation Through 2025-2026 Hackathons

SANTA CLARA, CA, UNITED STATES, October 16, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) is pleased to announce the renewal of its AI Collab partnership with the University of Washington Tacoma’s Milgard Center for Business Analytics and Analytics Innovation Club for 2026, continuing a shared commitment to fostering FinTech innovation, student engagement, and real-world learning.

For the past two years, ISSIP has supported UW Tacoma’s FinTech Incubator Challenge, providing leadership for mentoring and office hours as well as expert speakers for “Lunch-n-Learn” sessions. In 2026, the collaboration evolves as UW Tacoma transitions the program from a spring FinTech Challenge to a Fall Hackathon, scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2026, in collaboration with Sound Credit Union. ISSIP will once again contribute fintech thought leadership, expert webinars, and mentoring support for participating students and teams.

A New Format for Greater Impact
The new Hackathon format invites students to ideate, prototype, and pitch innovative financial technology solutions addressing timely challenges in areas such as financial wellness, digital payments, AI-augmented services, and inclusive finance. Participants will benefit from engagement with practitioners, mentors, and experts drawn from ISSIP’s global professional community.

“ISSIP is proud to renew our collaboration with UW Tacoma and Sound Credit Union,” said Deb Stokes, President of ISSIP and Director of Business Development, Services & Solutions at Dell Technologies. “By bringing together students, industry professionals, and academics, we’re co-creating the future of Fintech — building the skills, systems, and services that improve lives.”

“Our continued partnership with ISSIP is vital to creating meaningful experiential learning opportunities for students,” said Michael Turek, Director of the Milgard Center for Business Analytics and MSBA programs, and Faculty Advisor for the Business Analytics Club at UW Tacoma. “The new Hackathon format will deepen student engagement and provide a dynamic platform for innovation, mentorship, and professional growth.”
ISSIP invites students, faculty, and industry professionals to participate in or contribute to the 2026 Hackathon. Details on registration, mentorship opportunities, and event themes will be announced in the coming weeks.

About ISSIP
The International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP), (pronounced ‘eye zip’), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association co-founded by IBM, Cisco, HP, and several universities in 2012. ISSIP’s mission is to advance service innovation to benefit people, business and society. ISSIP’s global community of thousands in 76 countries is recognized for the power of its thought leadership, publishing platform and programs that connect individuals and organizations to learn, share, and co-create knowledge to advance human-centered service systems. Learn more at www.issip.org.

About UW Tacoma / Milgard Center for Business Analytics
The Milgard Center for Business Analytics at the University of Washington Tacoma engages students, faculty, and community partners to apply analytics, data science, and digital innovation to real-world challenges. Through programs such as the FinTech Challenge and Hackathon, the Center bridges academic learning with industry collaboration to deliver impact and opportunity. Learn more at https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/business/cba.

Michele Carroll
ISSIP, Executive Director
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