AI, Robotics & Our Future
When AI steps out of the screen and into the world, how will our lives change?
- Robotics & embodied intelligence
- Human–AI collaboration & the future of work
- Digital trust & human agency
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH RESEARCH & AI INNOVATION CHALLENGE
Future Impact
Challenge2027
Take your ideas to the international stage.
Choose a real-world problem you care about. Research it, develop a solution and test what works. Present your work to academic and industry experts, compete for research programme scholarships and a place in the USA grand final.
Global peers · Academic and industry judges · Research programme scholarships · Free entry
01 / CHALLENGE DIRECTIONS
Five challenge directions. What future will you shape?
Explore five challenge prompts centred on real-world issues our NGO partners care about. Start with your interests and develop your own solution through research, AI and innovation.
Life, Health & Human Potential
Can technology help us live not just longer, but better?
- Mental health, emotions & digital life
- Longevity & the future of health
- Brain science, cognition & human potential
Climate & the Future of Our Planet
How will the next generation change the way we live on this planet?
- Clean energy & climate resilience
- Future food & sustainable consumption
- Biodiversity & ecological innovation
Education, Growth & Opportunity
What kind of education can open up the future to more people?
- Learning & educational equity in the AI age
- Youth development & future capabilities
- Accessible design & social inclusion
Future Cities & the Innovation Economy
Can the next generation of cities and businesses create a better way to live?
- Smart cities & connected communities
- Cost of living, resources & economic opportunity
- Entrepreneurship, social innovation & responsible business
No coding background is required. Use AI tools, existing models, open-source resources and low-code platforms. Research, design, development, user communication and presentation all count as meaningful contributions.
High school and university students enter separate divisions with separate awards. All teams explain the tools and sources they used and each member's own contribution.
02 / KEY DATES
Know the dates. Plan your challenge.
Registration opens October 18, 2026. The national final takes place in February 2027, with remote participation for overseas teams. Advancing students will be invited to the international grand final.
- 01
Launch & registration
Launched alongside the Youth AI Innovation & Future Leaders Summit.
- 02
Research, build & validate
About three months to investigate your question, develop findings or a solution, and validate your work.
- 03
National final & showcase
Project judging, presentations and defence, with remote participation for overseas teams.
- 04
International Grand FinalCarnegie Mellon University, USA
Advancing students will be invited to the international grand final.
03 / WHY PARTICIPATE
Build a project that demonstrates your abilities and ambition.
Connect with international peers, learn from leading academic and industry expertise, and develop work you can bring to university applications and a wider audience.
Meet your next international collaborators
Meet students from different countries and disciplines through team formation, project showcases and competition exchanges. Find collaborators who bring new skills, experiences and perspectives to the problems you care about.
Learn from leading university expertise
Academic support from leading university scholars and experienced industry experts brings research methods into your project. Use guidance and open Q&A to sharpen your question, choose methods and make sense of evidence.
Get feedback from leading academic and industry minds
Finalists present their projects to academic and industry experts and receive feedback on research methods, results and next steps. Understand what makes your work strong and where it can improve.
Canada’s top 10 teams take the summit stage
Canada’s top 10 student teams will present at a major summit in February 2027, with academic and industry guests and leading media outlets in attendance. Showcase your work and connect with a wider audience.
Create substantial work for university applications
Use your report, research findings and project work to show how you identified a problem, made decisions and contributed. Give essays, interviews and portfolios concrete work to discuss, following each university’s submission requirements.
Compete for a place in the USA grand final
Present your work at the national final and compete for advancement. Overseas teams can participate remotely. Students who advance will be invited to the International Grand Final in the USA to showcase their research and innovations.
Win research programme scholarships to take your work further.
Winners will receive generous scholarships for research programmes, supporting further research and academic development.
Features and interview opportunities are for selected projects; individual outlets make their own coverage decisions.
ABOUT VIAX EDUCATION
Connecting young minds with world-class research and real-world impact.
With 12 years of experience, ViaX has grown into one of the largest research education institutions in North America and Asia. Our global network brings together more than 5,500 professors and research mentors, connecting students with opportunities across nine academic fields.
From AI and engineering to economics, health and the humanities, we help students move beyond learning established answers to asking original questions, developing evidence and creating work with practical value.
Visit ViaX Research ↗- Years in research education
- 12 years
- Professors & research mentors worldwide
- 5,500+
- Students served
- 230,000+
- Research topics across nine fields
- 2,300+
ViaX institution-wide figures, not participation figures for this competition.
Research beyond the classroom. Innovation that matters.
We believe young people's potential should not be defined by exam results alone. Meaningful growth begins when they ask their own questions, seek evidence, keep experimenting and create value for others.
Future Impact Challenge aims to provide a platform for that exploration: starting with real problems and bringing research, AI and action together to create original work.
Meet the faculty & mentor pool ↓SELECTED FACULTY · JUDGE & MENTOR POOL
Leading university faculty
Explore a selection of scholars from the wider ViaX academic network, spanning AI and computing, robotics, engineering, economics, education and the social sciences.
University of Cambridge
Raghavendra Rau
Professor of Finance
Cambridge Judge Business School
Finance · Business analysis
Harvard University
Daniel E. Agbiboa
John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Sciences
DPhil, University of Oxford
Social sciences · Urban governance
University of California, Berkeley
Venkatesan Guruswami
Professor of EECS and Mathematics
Senior Scientist, Simons Institute
Algorithms · Coding theory
University of Pennsylvania
Deep Jariwala
Associate Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering
2026 Optica Fellow · Armstrong Distinguished Scholar
Semiconductors · Photonics · Materials
University of Cambridge
Patrick Baert
Professor of Social Theory
DPhil, Oxford · Fellow, Selwyn College
Sociology · Ideas and culture
University of Pennsylvania
Andrea M. Kane
Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership
Former public-school district superintendent
Education · Leadership · Equity
Stanford University
Christos E. Constantinou
Associate Professor of Urology, Emeritus
PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Stanford
Biomedical engineering · Biomechanics
University of Cambridge
Fumiya Iida
Professor of Robotics
Biologically inspired robotics
Robotics · Embodied intelligence
Carnegie Mellon University
Osman Yağan
Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
CyLab Security and Privacy Institute
Network science · Communications · Security
UNSW Sydney
Petr Sedlacek
Professor of Economics
Former Professor of Economics, Oxford
Macroeconomics · Labour markets
Academic judge and mentor pool. This is not the confirmed judging panel for this edition.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
From research to innovation, with a pathway to an international stage.
Start with a question and develop your findings or solution. Submit a report and a short video for the initial round. Shortlisted teams then present in person or online and answer questions.
Define a problem. Investigate it.
Start with observations, literature, data or conversations with people affected. Define the problem, examine existing solutions and their limitations, and build an evidence-based project plan.
Develop your findings. Test your ideas.
Use methods suited to your question to develop research findings or a practical solution. Validate your work through analysis, experiments, user testing or other appropriate evidence. A physical or digital prototype is not required for every project.
Showcase your work. Compete for a place in the international grand final.
Submit one project report and a 3–5 minute video. Shortlisted teams present in person or online, followed by a short Q&A about their work and contributions. Reuse your existing material. Students who advance through judging will be invited to the international grand final.
Initial round: one report, one short video
Project report
Explain the problem, your research methods, and your findings or solution. Include the evidence behind your conclusions.
Briefly note team contributions, sources, mentor support and AI use at the end of your report.
3–5 minute presentation video
What problem are you tackling? What did you do or discover? Why does it matter? Explain it in a short video.
Narrate slides, demonstrate your work or speak to the camera. No professional editing, on-camera appearance or appearance by every team member is required.
Slides, prototypes and testing evidence can be included in your report or video, with links where useful. They are not separate required submissions.
We assess the project, not video production quality. Clear audio and readable visuals are enough.
Support at every key stage
Shared competition guide · Open Q&A · Mid-project feedback
05 / JUDGING & AWARDS
Academic and industry experts assess the depth, originality and practical value of your work.
Academic and industry experts review your report and video in the initial round. Shortlisted teams then present and answer questions. Judges assess the research, evidence, originality and contribution, not video production quality.
EXPERT AWARDS
Six criteria. 100 points. Expert awards decided by judges.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Problem & research evidence | 25% |
| Testing, validation & iteration | 25% |
| Implementation & appropriate AI use | 20% |
| Originality & practical value | 15% |
| Student contribution, understanding & reflection | 10% |
| Clarity of communication | 5% |
Awards are selected separately in the high school and university divisions. Public votes, social-media popularity and paid mentoring do not influence judging. Judges recuse themselves from teams they mentor or have a conflict of interest with.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
A public vote for the audience’s favourite project.
Share your project with classmates, families and the community. Help people understand the problem you are tackling and invite them to vote for the projects they support.
The People’s Choice Award does not affect expert scores, core rankings or advancement.06 / FAQ
Your questions, answered.
Who can enter, and do I need a team?
High school and university students worldwide can enter solo or form teams of 2–6, including across schools. High school and university entries are judged in separate divisions.
Do I need coding experience?
No coding background is required. You may use AI tools, existing models, open-source resources and low-code platforms. Research, design, testing and communication are valuable contributions too.
Do robotics projects require expensive equipment?
No. Embodied intelligence explores how AI senses, acts and interacts with the physical world. You can start with simulation, existing equipment or a low-cost prototype. Choose a manageable question and demonstrate what you tested and learned.
What kind of project should I choose?
Explore AI and robotics, health, climate, education or future cities and economies, or propose your own direction. Choose a focused question and develop research findings or a solution supported by evidence. A prototype is not required for every project.
What do I submit, and do I need to present live?
For the initial round, submit one project report and a 3–5 minute video. Slides and prototypes can be included, but are not separate required submissions. Only shortlisted teams give an in-person or online presentation with a short Q&A. You can reuse your existing material.
I preregistered or attended the summit. Do I still need to register?
Formal individual registration is now open. Submit the form on this page, even if you previously registered your interest or attended the summit. Your earlier record is retained; it does not automatically become a competition entry. You can provide team and project details later. The project period runs from November 2026 to January 2027.
Can overseas teams participate?
Yes. Students worldwide are welcome. Overseas teams can participate remotely in the national final. Advancement to the International Grand Final is determined through judging.
What does free entry include?
Entry includes a shared guide, open Q&A and mid-project feedback. Additional individual academic guidance is optional and paid separately. Purchasing guidance does not influence eligibility, judging or advancement. Travel and accommodation are not included.
How should I disclose AI tools and mentor support?
Include a brief note at the end of your report describing tools and sources, mentor support and each student’s contribution. No separate disclosure document is needed. Shortlisted teams should be ready to discuss their decisions, evidence and limitations during Q&A.
How are awards and advancement decided?
Academic and industry judges assess projects against the published criteria. Expert awards and advancement are separate from the People’s Choice Award. Public votes and social-media popularity do not affect core rankings.
Where and when is the International Grand Final?
The International Grand Final is scheduled for Carnegie Mellon University in the USA in April 2027, with exact dates to be confirmed. Advancing students will be invited to attend. Travel and accommodation are separate costs.
How can the project support university applications and careers?
Use your project report, findings and individual contribution to demonstrate initiative, problem-solving and sustained work. Present these in activity lists, essays, portfolios and interviews where permitted by each institution. Selected projects also have opportunities for public showcases and media features.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Your international challenge starts here.
Open to high school and university students worldwide. No teammates or project idea yet? You can register now and complete those details later.
Free individual registration. About 2 minutes. Fields marked * are required.
REGISTRATION COMPLETE
You’re registered. Welcome to Future Impact Challenge 2027!
Your individual registration is complete. Next, explore project directions, review the competition process and decide whether to enter solo or with teammates.
How we use your information
Next Gen AI Collective and ViaX use these details to manage Future Impact Challenge 2027 registrations and send competition information. Your referral link may identify the school or organization and counselor who shared the competition with you. This form does not subscribe you to unrelated marketing. To request a correction or removal, contact alinawan@viax.org.