Frequently asked questions.

No. XTF is open to students aged 13–24 anywhere in the world. You do not need a school sponsor, a national qualifying round, or membership in any organisation. You can enter directly from xtf.org/register.

Yes. Roughly 40% of our entries every year are solo. Teams of up to four are also welcome.

No. Each participant may be on exactly one team per competition cycle. Teams may submit exactly one project per cycle.

You compete in the division of the oldest team member, calculated by age as of 31 December 2026.

Yes — international teams are welcome and increasingly common. About 18% of 2025 teams crossed borders. Your team's "home country" for stats purposes is the country of the team captain.

Yes. Under-18 participants who are home-schooled or self-taught need a parent or guardian endorsement at registration. There is no requirement to be enrolled in a formal school.

Not as a competitor. The cut-off is age 24 as of 31 December of the competition year. We do welcome you as a mentor or as a graduate-student volunteer reviewer.

A 12-page paper (PDF), a 5-minute video, a link to your code/data/design files, a short Team Statement explaining who did what, and a signed ethics attestation. Everything is uploaded through your team dashboard. Full spec is on the Guidelines page.

English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic or Portuguese. If you write in another language, you may still submit, but must include an English abstract and English-subtitled video.

Either is fine. The rubric rewards rigour and clarity. A theoretical or simulation-based project competes on equal footing with a working prototype, provided the question is well-posed.

Yes, but you must extend or update it within the XTF cycle (1 March – 31 August). Disclose prior submissions in your Team Statement. Reviewers look at originality of contribution, not novelty of topic.

No. Late submissions are not accepted, regardless of reason. The deadline is 23:59 UTC and the upload portal closes automatically.

Prizes are paid to the team — not to the school. Teams decide how to split. For under-18 winners, funds are held in a custodial XTF education account until the participant turns 18, or until the family designates a guardian account. Payments are made by international bank transfer.

Possibly — that depends on your country of residence. XTF cannot give tax advice. We provide a payment statement that you can use to file locally.

Your name, team name, track, division, award level, a seven-digit verification number, and signatures from the Executive Director and your track chair. Universities and employers can verify any XTF certificate at xtf.org/verify. See the Certificate section for a preview.

Yes, for finalists who request one. Letters are written by the relevant track chair and reference your specific project, methods and contributions. We send up to ten letters per finalist over a two-year window.

After you register, you can request a mentor match in your dashboard from 1 April. We typically match teams within 10 working days, prioritising language and topical fit.

No. Mentors are consultants. They help you sharpen a question, navigate equipment, troubleshoot methods, and review drafts. The project remains yours; the mentor's name is not added as a co-author.

Yes — apply for a Seed Grant. Three tiers are open during the cycle (Builder, Compute, Lab Residency). Applications are short (one-page) and reviewed within 2–3 weeks. See the grants table.

Geneva, Switzerland, on 5–6 December 2026. The Awards Ceremony is the evening of 6 December.

For every finalist team, XTF books and pays for: economy international airfare, ground transport in Geneva, hotel for four nights, all meals during the event, and travel insurance. Under-18 teams also receive funded travel for one adult chaperone. There is no per-diem; everything is booked directly by XTF.

XTF's Operations team has direct contact with the Swiss missions in 32 countries. We issue visa-support letters immediately on finalist confirmation and assist with appointments and appeals. If, in spite of our best efforts, a participant cannot travel, they may present remotely with their full score retained for paper and video components.

For under-18 participants, one supervising adult per team (typically a parent, teacher or guardian) travels at XTF's cost. Additional family travel is at the family's expense, but we will book and discount it through our travel partners if you ask.

No. XTF claims no IP in your work. We acquire only a non-exclusive, non-commercial license to display your paper, video and a still image for purposes of running and promoting the competition.

Yes, with disclosure. We don't ban them. You must be able to explain submitted work at the judging round; if you can't, that's grounds for disqualification. See the AI tools section of the Guidelines for specifics.

Yes. Personal data submitted through XTF is governed by our Privacy Notice and is never sold or shared with third parties for commercial use. Reviewers see only the redacted version of your submission in the first round.