Big challenges, one Oxford Stage: The Global Climate Tech Challenge is now open! The world doesn’t need another lecture on climate change; it needs actual, working solutions. If you are a high schooler with a brilliant technical concept or a teacher redesigning environmental education, the University of Oxford is ready to give you a global platform to showcase your vision.
The Oxford Saïd Global Climate Tech Challenge 2026 is now accepting submissions. Hosted by Saïd Business School, this competition is free to join. You do not need to take the IELTS or any other English test to participate.
The ultimate reward for your creativity? Every single finalist team and educator chosen by the selection committee receives a fully covered, all-expenses-paid trip to the United Kingdom this October to present their ideas live at the Oxford global finals.
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The 5 Core Climate Themes
Your technology idea or high school curriculum should focus on one of these five important environmental areas:
- Air Pollution: Technical systems designed to monitor, map, or actively lower urban and industrial emissions in real time.
- Extreme Weather Events: Develop tools, software, or materials that help communities adapt to storms, floods, and droughts.
- Food Security: Work on better farming technology, indoor farming solutions, or ways to improve food distribution as climates change.
- Biodiversity Loss: Create tools to track ecosystems, stop habitat loss, and protect endangered wildlife.
- Water Scarcity: Design new irrigation systems, rainwater-collection tools, or affordable water filters for water-short areas.
Structural Rules and Entry Formats
Judges will look for ideas that are practical, scalable, and clearly explained. The application format depends on your category:
The Student Team Requirements
- Team Makeup: Submissions must come from a group of three to five students aged 15 to 18. Single-applicant entries are automatically disqualified. Your team members can attend the same school, completely different schools, or even reside in completely different countries.
- The Pitch Portfolio: A comprehensive 10-page PowerPoint presentation, saved and uploaded cleanly as a PDF under 10 MB.
- The Pitch Video: A short, engaging video presentation lasting no longer than three minutes total, summarizing your team’s core technical idea.
- Legal Consents: A completed parental or guardian consent form, signed and uploaded for each student on the team roster.
The Educator Requirements
- Submission Type: High school teachers must apply individually. Group submissions from teachers are not allowed.
- Curriculum Design: Teachers should create and upload detailed lesson plans that bring climate innovation and technology into their school’s curriculum. Submit the file as a single PDF under 10MB.
Global Recognition and Funding Rewards
The competition offers major career-building and academic prizes for those who make the shortlist:
Travel and Housing Funding
All finalist student teams and teachers will have their travel arranged, including round-trip flights and local accommodation, to present their work at Saïd Business School in Oxford this October.
The Ultimate Student Prize
The single winning student team secures a 100% fully funded scholarship to attend the elite Future Climate Tech Innovators Summer School 2027 on campus at the University of Oxford, working alongside world-renowned academic experts.
The Ultimate Teacher Prize
The top teacher will receive a fully funded spot in an Executive Education Program at Oxford Saïd Business School in 2027.
Official Institutional Certification
To ensure your hard work counts toward your academic portfolio, every student and teacher whose completed submission is officially approved by the university review team receives a verified Certificate of Participation issued directly by Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Direct Portal Application Links
The final date to complete your registration and upload your pitch files is August 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM GMT. Because the platform operates a strict rolling review policy, early submission is highly recommended to maximize your project’s visibility before the panel.
Use the direct institutional channels below to initialize your application profile:
- Official Competition Registration: Oxford Saïd Global Climate Tech Challenge Application Portal
- Direct Form Download: Oxford Saïd Student Parental Consent Document Gateway
