The XTF Global Innovation Challenge
An open, eight-track research and prototype competition for students aged 13–24, judged by working scientists and engineers.
XTF brings together students, scientists and educators from 60+ countries to push the boundaries of what young people can build, prove and ship. The challenge is open. The world is watching.
Xccelerate Technologies Foundation (XTF) is an independent non-profit that funds, mentors, and platforms student innovators. We do not own the work students produce. We do not gatekeep who can compete. We exist so that an idea from a 15-year-old in Lagos has the same shot as one from a doctoral lab in Zurich.
An open, eight-track research and prototype competition for students aged 13–24, judged by working scientists and engineers.
1,200+ active mentors from universities, labs and industry — matched 1:1 with shortlisted teams during the build phase.
Microgrants for students who need equipment, compute, lab time or travel — not for tuition.
Free, CC-licensed teaching modules in eight innovation tracks, designed for after-school clubs and STEM teachers.
Foundation models, agents, alignment, mechanistic interpretability, applied ML for science.
Carbon removal, clean energy, materials, food & water systems, climate adaptation.
Synthetic biology, diagnostics, neuroscience, longevity research, global health.
Autonomous systems, mechatronics, precision sensing, manufacturing, agritech robotics.
Quantum information, novel architectures, photonics, post-quantum cryptography.
CubeSats, propulsion, planetary science, remote sensing, suborbital experiments.
Cryptography, privacy-preserving computation, digital rights, secure systems.
Civic tech, accessibility, education technology, humanitarian engineering.
Registration is live for the seventh edition of the XTF Global Innovation Challenge, the largest open student science competition in our history.
The "BioMesh" team — three high-schoolers from Nairobi, São Paulo and Kuala Lumpur — describe what came after the trophy.
The free curriculum now covers all eight innovation tracks in six languages, with CC BY-SA licensing for any classroom worldwide.
No paywalls, no franchise fees, no "regional rounds" you have to buy into. Submit your work, get reviewed by working scientists, and — if your idea earns it — fly it onto the world stage.
Solo or up to four members. Free for every student worldwide. Pick your track and your division (Junior 13–15, Senior 16–18, Collegiate 19–24).
Use the XTF Open Curriculum. Get matched with a mentor from our network. Submit your final research paper or prototype documentation by 31 August.
Every submission is scored by at least three independent reviewers. Top 5% per track advance to the Shortlist.
Shortlisted teams present live to track panels. 24 finalists (three per track) are invited to the Grand Finals.
Three days of demos, posters and judging in person. XTF covers travel, visas and accommodation for all 24 finalist teams.
— Dr. Aisha Rahman, XTF Senior Judge (BioTech track) and Group Leader, EMBL-EBI
XTF is not a science fair. It is a peer-reviewed, open competition designed to mirror — and to demystify — the real practice of research:
XTF is independently governed and funded by a coalition of universities, labs and private foundations. No single funder contributes more than 15% of our annual operating budget.
ETH Zurich · MIT Media Lab · CERN Open Lab · EMBL-EBI · The Royal Society · Société de Genève · Mozilla Foundation · The Wellcome Trust · Asia Pacific STEM Alliance