The Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) is led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is a national, two-phase competition where community college student teams, working with a faculty or administrator mentor, use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems; participate in a Virtual Innovation Boot Camp; and compete for cash awards.

The Virtual Innovation Boot Camp provides professional development, mentoring, and coaching designed to build strategic communication and entrepreneurial skills to help students advance their innovations in both the private and public sectors. The Boot Camp culminates in a virtual poster session and engagement opportunity with STEM leaders and Congressional stakeholders, and a pitch presentation in front of a panel of industry professionals to determine the first, second, and third place winning teams.

The national CCIC is designed to enable community colleges students to discover and demonstrate their capacity to use STEM to make a difference in the world and to translate that knowledge into action.