FUTURE IMPACTINTERNATIONAL YOUTH RESEARCH & AI INNOVATION CHALLENGE
Open to high school and university students worldwide. Choose a real-world problem you want to solve and spend about three months researching, developing an AI-enabled solution and improving it through testing. Present your work to leading scholars and senior industry experts, building research and practical experience for university applications, portfolios and future careers.
Global participation · Leading university expertise · Expert feedback · Free entry
01 / KEY DATES
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.
Launched alongside the Youth AI Innovation & Future Leaders Summit.
About three months of research, prototyping, testing and iteration.
Project judging, presentations and defence, with remote participation for overseas teams.
Advancing students will be invited to the international grand final.
02 / WHY PARTICIPATE
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 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.
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.
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.
Selected projects will be showcased through competition and partner channels, with opportunities for interviews and media consideration. Introduce your team, your work and the problem you are tackling to a wider audience.
Use your report, prototype and testing records 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.
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.
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
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.
ViaX institution-wide figures, not participation figures for this competition.
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
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
Professor of Finance
Cambridge Judge Business School
Finance · Business analysis
Harvard University
John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Sciences
DPhil, University of Oxford
Social sciences · Urban governance
University of California, Berkeley
Professor of EECS and Mathematics
Senior Scientist, Simons Institute
Algorithms · Coding theory
University of Pennsylvania
Associate Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering
2026 Optica Fellow · Armstrong Distinguished Scholar
Semiconductors · Photonics · Materials
University of Cambridge
Professor of Social Theory
DPhil, Oxford · Fellow, Selwyn College
Sociology · Ideas and culture
University of Pennsylvania
Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership
Former public-school district superintendent
Education · Leadership · Equity
Stanford University
Associate Professor of Urology, Emeritus
PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Stanford
Biomedical engineering · Biomechanics
University of Cambridge
Professor of Robotics
Biologically inspired robotics
Robotics · Embodied intelligence
Carnegie Mellon University
Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
CyLab Security and Privacy Institute
Network science · Communications · Security
UNSW Sydney
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.
03 / YOUR PROJECT
Choose a real-world problem you want to solve. Use research to find a way forward, then build, test and refine your solution with AI. Choose a brief from this competition’s NGO or industry partners, or propose your own.
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.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Three stages: research, build and present. Each stage has clear tasks and deliverables. Showcase your work and compete for advancement to the International Grand Final.
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.
A clear research question, supporting evidence and project plan.
Choose suitable methods and AI tools to build a prototype or testable solution. Evaluate it through experiments, data assessment, user testing or another appropriate method, then improve it using the results.
A prototype, test results and a record of improvements.
Submit your research report and project. Present and defend your process, results, limitations and team contributions. Students who advance through judging will be invited to the international grand final.
A research report, presentation and next-step plan; advancing students proceed to the international grand final.
The problem, research evidence, methods, results, limitations and conclusions.
Show how your solution works in practice.
Explain what you tested and how the evidence informed improvements.
Present your research and solution clearly and respond to questions.
Explain team responsibilities, mentor input, source materials and AI use.
Shared competition guide · Open Q&A · Mid-project feedback
05 / JUDGING & AWARDS
Scholars and experienced industry experts will assess the project itself, not just the presentation. Explain your research decisions, test results, improvements, limitations and each member’s contribution.
EXPERT AWARDS
| 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
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
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.
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.
Start with a real problem in education, the environment, health, community or business. Choose a brief from this competition’s NGO or industry partners, or define your own. Your project should combine research, a prototype or testable solution, and evidence of testing and improvement.
Interest registration is open now. Formal competition registration opens October 18, 2026; we will email registered students the next steps. Summit admission is separate and does not enter you in the competition. The project period runs approximately from November 2026 to January 2027.
Yes. Students worldwide are welcome. Overseas teams can participate remotely in the national final. Advancement to the International Grand Final is determined through judging.
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.
Explain the tools, models and sources used, the support you received, and each student’s own contribution. Be ready to explain your decisions, tests, results and limitations during the presentation and questions.
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.
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.
Use your research report, prototype, testing records 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
Take the first step toward turning a real-world challenge into meaningful impact. Open to high school and university students worldwide. No team or project proposal is needed at this stage.
About 2 minutes. Fields marked * are required. Formal competition registration opens October 18, 2026.
INTEREST REGISTERED
Thank you for your interest in Future Impact Challenge 2027. We’ll email you when registration opens, along with the next steps and key dates.
JOIN US IN VANCOUVER
Join us for the Future Impact Challenge 2027 launch at the Youth AI Innovation & Future Leaders Summit at UBC. Meet distinguished scholars and industry leaders, explore new possibilities, and connect with fellow innovators.
October 18, 2026 · UBC Nest, Great Hall, Vancouver\nDoors open 10:00 AM · Programme starts 10:30 AM
Explore the summit & reserve your place ↗Summit attendance requires a separate registration.
Next Gen AI Collective and ViaX use these details to manage Future Impact Challenge 2027 interest 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.