Lead. Build. eXplore.

Students set the direction. We ask participants to identify a real problem worth their time, articulate why it matters, and take ownership of the path to a solution. Mentors guide; students decide.

Ideas become things. Every entry must include a working artefact — a prototype, an app, a dataset, a study, or a designed intervention — paired with documentation a stranger could follow.

The X is deliberate. Good projects open more questions than they close. We reward curiosity, honest failure, and the courage to follow a problem into territory that isn't on the syllabus.

Physics, chemistry, biology, and earth sciences. Original investigations with reproducible methods and clear data analysis.

Hardware, mechanical and electrical systems, embedded software. Working prototypes that solve a defined problem.

Algorithms, applications, machine learning, and computational research. Code repositories must be public and well-documented.

Projects addressing energy, water, biodiversity, materials, or climate adaptation, with credible measurement of impact.

Public health, accessibility, education, and civic technology. Projects tested with a real community of users.

The category for work that does not fit a box: art–science crossovers, new instruments, philosophical experiments. Judged on rigor and originality.

Working researchers, engineers, founders, and educators give targeted feedback over the season — not generic encouragement, but the kind of questions that change a project's direction.

Final-round work is presented to university faculty, industry judges, and a public showcase. Strong projects are introduced to admissions offices and partner programmes.

Participants leave with a documented project, a published showcase page, and the writing, code, or hardware to point to. Awards are a by-product, not the goal.