09/23/2025
Citizens Awards Two Citizens Workforce Innovation Prizes at MIT Solve Challenge Finals
ELEVATE and Tatum Robotics each awarded $100,000 to further the impact of their groundbreaking solutions.
September 23, 2025 (Boston, MA) – Two groundbreaking initiatives have been awarded the 2025 Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize, launched in collaboration with MIT Solve. ELEVATE, developed by the Massachusetts Association for Computer and Internet Resources, and Tatum Robotics will be able to scale and expand the impact of their innovative solutions and help equip individuals with the skills and tools needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving workplace.
“The Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize is an investment in empowering bold solutions to tackle the biggest challenges in workforce development,” said Michelle Hecht, Head of Corporate Affairs at Citizens. “Both ELEVATE and Tatum Robotics are helping to transform their communities through groundbreaking ideas and solutions designed to expand access to the workforce.”
Supporting the workforce of the future is a central focus of Citizens’ commitment to making a positive impact in its communities. The awards build on Citizens’ recent $20 million commitment over the next three years to support workforce development programs and long-term economic growth across the bank’s footprint.
The prizes, awarded this week at the Solve Challenge Finals in New York City, are helping drive innovations to prepare individuals for the dynamic workforce landscape. In addition to the $100,000 prize, both winners will now enter MIT Solve’s nine-month support program to scale their work and impact. Originally a $100,000 award designed to empower solutions that will shape the future of work, the prize was increased to $200,000 based on an outstanding pool of impactful applicants.
“We’re excited to partner with Citizens on this year’s 2025 Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize. By doubling the funding available, they’re doubling the potential impact of ELEVATE and Tatum Robotics,” said Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve. “This is real change in action.”
ELEVATE is a workforce development solution embedded in public libraries to help prepare underserved individuals for today’s constantly evolving digital economy. Through ELEVATE’s eight-week Tech Support program, participants gain essential digital skills and can earn industry recognized certifications, including Google’s IT Support Certificate. To meet the needs of the evolving workforce, ELEVATE is building new tools that blend hybrid learning, micro-credentialing, and AI-powered career coaching to create a scalable and sustainable model that helps expand workforce accessibility.
With support from the Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize, we will expand ELEVATE into workforce ecosystems in Boston and New York City, said Rachid Moukhabir, founder, MACIR. “This prize will enable us to scale our proven approach, deepen partnerships, and continue transforming public libraries into engines of upward mobility in urban and underserved regions.”
Tatum Robotics, headquartered in Boston, has developed a tool to allow DeafBlind workers the ability to participate in meetings real-time, access work emails, and engage face-to-face with customers while still using tactile sign language. The Tatum T1 is a collaborative, cloud-based robot that allows DeafBlind people to access the benefits of a computer without digital accessibility hurdles.
“The Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize will enable us to collaborate with DeafBlind people and employers to help develop functionality to support and grow their economic impact,” said Samantha Johnson, Founder and CEO, Tatum Robotics. “As the workforce continues to evolve with new technologies and hybrid schedules, there is a critical need to offer real-time translation services to support DeafBlind workers to ensure an equitable experience.”
MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is dedicated to driving transformational change by sourcing and supporting innovative, tech-driven solutions to global challenges. The 2025 Global Solve Challenge Finals awarded over $1.5 million in funding to scale 31 world-changing solutions to intractable global challenges. The Finals included representative teams from 16 countries and the winners were selected from Solve’s largest application pool to date, over 2,900 applications from 130 countries.
To learn more about the Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize and MIT Solve, visit here.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $218.3 billion in assets as of June 30, 2025. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,000 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on X, LinkedIn or Facebook.
