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2022 Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge

Are you 24 and under and passionate about making a positive impact in your community and the world? If your answer is “yes!,” we want to hear about your solution.

Submissions are Closed

Challenge Overview

Are you looking for Solve's latest Youth Innovation Challenge? You can our 2023 Solv[ED] Challenge here

Young people hold the empathy, power, and ingenuity to solve problems, in their communities, the world, and everywhere in between. Solv[ED] is designed to spark a sense of agency in young people aged 24 and under, encouraging, inspiring, and supporting them to become problem-solvers in their communities and the world.

Millions of children are still out of school. The negative impacts of climate change continue to accelerate and shock our natural, social, and economic systems. Economic inequality is growing within and between countries. A global pandemic is exacerbating and exposing massive health and social inequities. We need everyone to roll up their sleeves and take part in addressing these challenges, even (and especially) when we feel overwhelmed. Each one of us has a role to play. And it’s never too early to get started.

Are you age 24 and under? Whoever you are, wherever you are in the world, we want to hear from you about your solution!

The Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for you to submit your tech-based solution that: 

  • Improves learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on 

  • Supports financial and economic opportunities for all  

  • Accelerates healthcare access and health outcomes, reducing and, ultimately, eliminating disparities in health 

  • Takes action to combat climate change and its impacts 

  • Addresses an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four topics above. 

For more information on 'what counts as technology?' or ideas on topics that are eligible, see our FAQs page.  

Whether your solution is a concept, a product that is being prototyped, a service that is being piloted in your local community, or a fully operational nonprofit or for-profit organization, we want to hear from you. 

The 10 most promising solutions will be selected by our judges as Solv[ED] Innovators. Over $200,000 is available in prize funding to share among selected Solv[ED] Innovators. In addition to prize funding, selected Solv[ED] Innovators will receive mentorship and coaching from members of the MIT and MIT Solve community. 

See our webpage and FAQs for more information on workshops, resources, and funding that may be available to you as you work on developing your solution and application. If you have trouble completing the application, you can also contact help@solve.mit.edu.

All applicants are invited to sign up for Application Clinics. These are opportunities for you to get tips from MIT Solve's team and ask your questions. Register HERE or view a recording of past sessions here (in English) and here (in Spanish). 

If you start a draft application, we will automatically subscribe to the Solv[ED] Newsletter to make sure you receive reminders about the application close date and updates on the selection process.

For MIT students ONLY: Apply to two opportunities with one application. MIT IDEAS applicants, who opt in to participate in the Solv[ED] Challenge, are automatically considered for the Solv[ED] Challenge. Similarly, if you apply to the Solv[ED] Challenge and are an MIT student, you'll also be considered for the MIT IDEAS Challenge. 

Timeline

Accepting Solutions

  • Challenge Open
  • Deadline to Submit Solutions

Evaluating Solutions

  • Finalist Judging
 
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