$100,000 Paradigm Challenge Student Competition
- Organization: Project Paradigm
- Type: Competition
- Location: Global
- Deadline: May 1, 2027
- Age: 4 to 18
- Funding: Fully Funded
Project Paradigm, a private foundation in Los Angeles, runs The Paradigm Challenge, a free competition that asks students aged 4 to 18 anywhere in the world to come up with ideas that help solve real problems. The current challenge covers five projects: home fires, waste reduction, personal health, food security and biodiversity. Students enter alone or in teams of any size, and any kind of idea counts, from a poster or video to an invention, app or community event. **What you get:** - A First Place, Second Place and Third Place winner in each of three age divisions (4 to 8, 9 to 13, 14 to 18): $10,000, $2,000 and $1,000 per team of four or more - One First Place team becomes the Grand Prize winner and shares $100,000; in a team of fewer than four, each member receives $25,000 - In teams of fewer than four, each qualifying member receives 25 percent of the team prize - At least 100 Finalists; remaining Finalist teams share up to $200 ($50 per member in smaller teams) and receive an official Finalist t-shirt - Up to four members of each First Place team, each with a parent or guardian, get a 4-day, 3-night trip to Los Angeles for the Prize Ceremony, covering coach airfare, hotel, ground transport, limo, outfit allowance, a theme park visit and $500 spending cash - Written feedback from Project Paradigm mentors on any entry submitted more than 30 days before the deadline, with the chance to revise and resubmit **What you'll do:** - Pick one or more of the five Challenge Projects and study the problem using the resources on the Challenge Projects page - Develop an idea that addresses it, in any format: posters, videos, inventions, public messages, community events, websites or mobile apps - Submit an entry in English with a team name, a statement of your idea in 140 characters or less, its category, an explanation, and optional files or video links - Use mentor feedback to refine your idea and submit a new entry before the deadline **Key dates:** - Entries opened May 2, 2025 - Entries close May 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time - All Finalists announced on or before June 1, 2027 - Winners notified during May, June and July 2027 **More information:** - Full rules: https://www.projectparadigm.org/rules - Challenge Projects and resources: https://www.projectparadigm.org/challenge - Lesson plans for teachers by age group are on the home page
