Conrad Challenge
Conrad Innovation Challenge
A year-long innovation competition where teams build a product and a business around a real global problem.
Run by Conrad Foundation
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Not confirmed. Check the organiser's rules before entering.The Conrad Foundation sets eligibility by age, not grade. Middle school students within the age range are eligible, as are officially homeschooled students.
- Eligible ages
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Ages 13 to 18.
Students who competed in previous years may enter again provided they still meet the age criteria, and teams may resubmit a past innovation if significant advances have been made since.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Individual or team
- Team · Teams of 2 to 5 students, plus one coach over 18. There is no solo entry and a team must always have at least two members. Teammates may come from different schools, cities and countries, and many teams work across time zones. All team members and the coach register through the Conrad Portal under one account.
- Where it runs
- Online and in person · International
- Entry cost
- Not free. The Activation and Lean Canvas stages carry no fee, but advancing to the Innovation Stage costs $499 per team. Reported separately, attending the Innovation Summit costs a further $499 per attendee.This is a material correction: the previous listing described the competition as free. The Conrad Foundation offers discounts and fee waivers to qualifying students and teams, awarded on application quality and demonstrated need, so ask rather than being deterred. Travel to Houston for the Summit is additional.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date 2026-27 dates were not confirmed; the season was set to begin in August 2026. For reference, the 2025-26 cycle ran the Activation Stage 28 August to 30 October 2025, the Innovation Stage 31 October 2025 to 8 January 2026, finalists announced 27 February 2026, finalist materials due 2 April 2026 and the Summit 22 to 25 April 2026.
- Competition dates
- Activation Stage due 30 October 2026. Innovation Stage due 8 January 2027. Innovation Summit 21 to 24 April 2027.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- College scholarships, patent services and industry prizesNo cash prizes. Reported awards include a medallion and certificate, a laptop, patent lawyer services valued at around $20,000, a market feasibility study, connections to grant funding, and funded places on entrepreneurship programmes. Scholarship awards apply only at a specific list of colleges, which is worth checking before treating them as a general benefit.
What Conrad Challenge is
The Conrad Challenge is an annual innovation and entrepreneurship competition for students aged 13 to 18 worldwide. Teams work through staged deliverables across a full academic year: an initial concept, then a full innovation package including a business plan, prototype and marketing strategy, then a live pitch at the Innovation Summit. Categories span aerospace, cyber-technology and security, energy and environment, and health and nutrition.
How the competition works
A multi-stage year-long process. Activation Stage: form the team, register and complete a Lean Canvas. Innovation Stage: submit an Innovation Brief, a video and a website. Innovation Summit: finalists present in person at Space Center Houston. Categories span areas such as energy, health, aerospace, cybersecurity and sustainability. Judging looks at clarity, feasibility, impact and communication.
Eligibility notes
Open worldwide. Teams need a coach, who can be a teacher, parent or mentor, and team members may come from different schools or countries.
How to register
- Form a team of two to five students aged 13 to 18. Teammates can be from different schools or countries.
- Find a coach with relevant subject knowledge. This is required and shapes how much support you get.
- Register on the Conrad Challenge site and choose your category or categories.
- Submit the Activation Stage deliverable by 30 October 2026.
- If you advance, produce the full Innovation Stage package by 8 January 2027, then pitch at the Summit if selected as a finalist.
What skills you need
- Product design
- Prototyping
- Business planning
- Market research
- Financial modelling
- Pitching to industry judges
- Working to staged deadlines over a year
Recommended resources
-
Conrad Challenge official site (also: conrad challenge resources)
Categories, staged deadlines, rules, judging criteria and past finalists. Guidance material on each deliverable, published by the Conrad Foundation.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Past finalist projects
Previous years' finalist concepts are published, which is the clearest guide to scope and quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Conrad Challenge free?
There is no entry fee for the competition stages. Finalists who attend the Innovation Summit in person are responsible for their own travel and accommodation.
How long does it take?
It is a year-long competition with staged deadlines from October through April. The Innovation Stage in particular is a substantial deliverable and teams that start in December struggle.
Can middle school students enter?
Yes. Eligibility is by age, 13 to 18, so younger students who meet the age floor can compete.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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