Student Competitions

Solve for Tomorrow Closing Applications with $2 Million in Prizes Available

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 11/28/16

Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow contest, with $2 million in prizes up for grabs, will stop accepting entries this Wednesday.

To enter, teachers must submit a project idea that explains how their students will solve a real-world problem in their community using science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).

"Solve for Tomorrow challenges public school students in grades 6–12 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia to use hands-on STEAM knowledge to address real-world issues and make a difference in their local communities," according to a news release. "Teachers can go online to fill out a short three-question application and outline an issue faced by the school's community, describing how their students will apply STEAM skills to combat the challenge."

Projects that have won previous Solve for Tomorrow competitions include customized prosthetics for local veterans, a safety alert system for a local hiking trail and a wearable app designed to help protect students from car accidents.

Once applications are submitted, five finalists from each state and the District of Columbia will be selected in early December and awarded technology for their classrooms. Teachers will then submit a lesson plan.

From there, one school from each state and Washington DC will be selected as state winners. Those teams will win $25,000 in technology, including a kit to make videos about their projects to share online.

Next, 10 national finalists will be selected and their videos posted online for public voting. Those winners will receive $50,000 in technology and a trip to New York to pitch their ideas to contest judges.

Finally, "three national winners will be selected by a panel of judges and will receive a technology grant of $150,000, a donation of $20,000 to their selected NGO and a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress," according to a news release. "Additionally, one community choice winner will be decided via online voting [and] will be awarded $20,000 in classroom technology."

To enter the contest, visit samsung.com.