$50,000 Switch Global Energy Competition

Organization: Switch Energy Alliance

Type: Competition

Location: Global

Deadline: September 11, 2026

Funding: Fully Funded

Switch Energy Alliance, a US energy education nonprofit, runs this virtual case competition for university students on the problem of energy poverty. Teams of three or four students pick one of five focus countries and build a ten-year plan to expand energy access there, working through four rounds between September and December with a professional mentor attached. Fifteen teams share a $50,000 prize pool, and the five finalists present live on Zoom on December 5. **What you get:** - A share of a $50,000 prize pool if your team finishes in the top 15: $12,500 for first, $10,000 for second, $7,000 for third, $5,000 for fourth, $3,000 for fifth, $1,500 each for sixth to tenth place and $1,000 each for eleventh to fifteenth - A professional energy-industry mentor assigned to your team, giving roughly 30 minutes a week of direction - A learning series taught by named academics and executives, open to every registered participant and recorded for anyone who cannot attend live - Written feedback on your Round 1 submission, delivered through The Grid - The chance to apply for an internship with Switch Energy Alliance, which the registration form offers to top teams - Access to The Grid, the organisation's online hub, where case materials, announcements and teammate matching all live **What you'll do:** - Register a team of three or four university students and choose one of five focus countries facing energy poverty - Round 1, due September 27: submit your country selection and a three to five page energy analysis brief - Round 2, due October 25: submit a five to eight page ten-year plan and budget, scored by judges on a six-dimension rubric, with the top 25 teams advancing as semifinalists - Round 3, due November 15: submit a twelve minute video and a PDF slide deck, with the top five teams advancing as finalists - Round 4, December 5: give a ten minute live presentation and take ten minutes of questions on Zoom, with winners announced live **Key dates:** - Registration closes September 11, 2026 - Competition begins and the case packet is released September 14, 2026 - Kickoff event and live question session September 15, 2026 - Round 1 due September 27, 2026 - Round 1 results announced October 1, 2026 - Round 2 due October 25, 2026 - Semifinalists announced November 5, 2026 - Round 3 due November 15, 2026 - Finalists announced November 25, 2026 - Live finals December 5, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM US Central Time **More information:** - All submission deadlines are 11:59 PM US Central Time on the date shown, CDT through October and CST from November - The competition is conducted in English, and the organisers say teams still building confidence in English are welcome - Everything runs on The Grid at switchedu.org, and every team member has to create an account there - Questions go to Zach Carr at zach.carr@switchon.org - Energy professionals can volunteer as mentors or judges through a separate form

Switch Energy AllianceCompetition

$50,000 Switch Global Energy Competition

This one has closed

Archived

Opportunity type

Competition

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

Global

Deadline

Archived

About this opportunity

What you get:

A share of a $50,000 prize pool if your team finishes in the top 15: $12,500 for first, $10,000 for second, $7,000 for third, $5,000 for fourth, $3,000 for fifth, $1,500 each for sixth to tenth place and $1,000 each for eleventh to fifteenth
A professional energy-industry mentor assigned to your team, giving roughly 30 minutes a week of direction
A learning series taught by named academics and executives, open to every registered participant and recorded for anyone who cannot attend live
Written feedback on your Round 1 submission, delivered through The Grid
The chance to apply for an internship with Switch Energy Alliance, which the registration form offers to top teams
Access to The Grid, the organisation's online hub, where case materials, announcements and teammate matching all live

What you'll do:

Register a team of three or four university students and choose one of five focus countries facing energy poverty
Round 1, due September 27: submit your country selection and a three to five page energy analysis brief
Round 2, due October 25: submit a five to eight page ten-year plan and budget, scored by judges on a six-dimension rubric, with the top 25 teams advancing as semifinalists
Round 3, due November 15: submit a twelve minute video and a PDF slide deck, with the top five teams advancing as finalists
Round 4, December 5: give a ten minute live presentation and take ten minutes of questions on Zoom, with winners announced live

Key dates:

Registration closes September 11, 2026
Competition begins and the case packet is released September 14, 2026
Kickoff event and live question session September 15, 2026
Round 1 due September 27, 2026
Round 1 results announced October 1, 2026
Round 2 due October 25, 2026
Semifinalists announced November 5, 2026
Round 3 due November 15, 2026
Finalists announced November 25, 2026
Live finals December 5, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM US Central Time

More information:

All submission deadlines are 11:59 PM US Central Time on the date shown, CDT through October and CST from November
The competition is conducted in English, and the organisers say teams still building confidence in English are welcome
Everything runs on The Grid at switchedu.org, and every team member has to create an account there
Questions go to Zach Carr at zach.carr@switchon.org
Energy professionals can volunteer as mentors or judges through a separate form

Who can apply

Open to university students worldwide, undergraduate or graduate, in any major
Enrolment at a university is a hard gate. The organisation's own FAQ answers who can participate with "any university student", and there is no route in for anyone who is not currently a student
No age limit. The FAQ says students of any age can take part
Teams must have three or four members, and at least two of them must be undergraduates. The remaining member or members may be master's or PhD candidates
Teammates may come from different universities, different countries and different time zones
Every team member must create an account on The Grid at switchedu.org
No technical or science background is required, and the organisers say the strongest teams are multidisciplinary
The competition is conducted in English
No entry fee and no travel. Every round including the finals happens online

AI Verification

✓ AI Verified

Our AI read the official sources and cross-checked the key facts. Here is what held up, and what it could not confirm.

This opportunity is run by an established organization, and we confirmed its key details against the official source. As always, never share sensitive personal or financial information until you are sure a request is genuine.

LOT Verification ScoreStrong

Cross-checked 20 of 21 key facts

Confirmed Our best read Not stated

Good to know

+$50,000 split across fifteen winning teams, from $12,500 down to $1,000
+Genuinely open worldwide, with teams from more than 75 countries
+Open to any university student, undergraduate or postgraduate, in any major and of any age
+Their own page states it plainly: there is no entry fee and no travel
+You compete as a team of three or four, so you are not carrying it alone

Worth checking yourself

!Registration closes 11 September at 11:59pm US Central, which is four days away
!You must be enrolled at a university, and your team needs at least two undergraduates in it
!How prize money is actually paid to a team is not published anywhere public, and the detailed FAQ sits behind a member login
!A $25,000 prize figure and a 27 September date are still circulating in search results. Both are last cycle's numbers from a site that has since retired

Sources checked

SWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialHThttps://switchcompetition.org (redirects to https://switchedu.org/)OfficialSWswitchon.orgOfficialSWswitchedu.orgApplySWswitchedu.orgApply404080fl.share-na2.hsforms.comOfficial

LOT finds and checks opportunities from public sources. Always confirm details on the organiser’s own page before applying.