Impact the World: A New BTN Show

On January 10, BTN will debut a powerful new original series called Impact the World, which shifts the focus from the playing field to the world stage, where Big Ten professors and students are making their presence known. Impact will take viewers on a journey around the world to illustrate how breakthroughs at all 12 Big Ten universities are improving lives. The actor Dennis Haysbert is hosting the series. Watch a promo for the series right here and learn more in this post.

The series will highlight 24 stories from all 12 Big Ten universities that demonstrate the benefits of Big Ten scientific, medical and sociological advances to people in the U.S. and around the world.

The debut episode will feature a series of stories illustrating the impact of advances in medical treatment. At Indiana University, a program called Horseshoes for Hope is helping children like 13-year-old Parker Eaton, who is autistic, improve her communications skills, and Horses for Heroes is helping Iraqi war veteran Justin Inabinette emerge from post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the University of Minnesota, researchers are blurring the lines between fantasy and reality to help paralyzed patients walk again through brain computer interface, or thought control. And Illinois, the first university to adapt sports and recreation programs for disabled students, is developing better and faster wheelchairs to encourage the growth of wheelchair basketball around the world.