Competitions, prizes and awards open now

Writing, research, innovation and leadership competitions, prizes and awards with cash or funded places, and their deadlines.

17 open now, 2 fully funded. Updated 13 November 2026.

Competitions and prizes reward a piece of work, an idea or a record of achievement, usually with cash, publication or a funded trip. Each listing says what you submit and what the winners receive.

See which of these you qualify for, and why.Get my matches, free

Prize · Fully fundedUNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in STEM (third edition)UNESCO

USD 50,000 per laureate, plus medal and diplomaOpen worldwide30 Nov

Competition · Fully fundedCarnegie Challenge for Civic Leadership 2026/2027 (Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa)Ashoka and Andrew Carnegie Foundation (Changemakers)

Civic Seed Grant $50 (25 per country early applicants); Civic Promise Award $250 (30 winners); Civic Impact Award $1,000 (30 finalists); Civic Leadership Award $5,000 (6 grand prize winners); in-person convening travel coveredAfrica29 Jan

Competition · UnfundedFoodTech 500 Competition 2026Forward Fooding

Not statedOpen worldwide15 Nov

Prize · Partly fundedIUSSP Early Career Awards 2027International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP)

Free registration for IPC 2029 (Barcelona) and award ceremony; webinar presentationAfrica, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania15 Nov

Prize · UnfundedEEP Africa Rising Energy Leader 2026EEP Africa (hosted and managed by the Nordic Development Fund)

Not statedAfrica20 Nov

Competition · Partly fundedJournalism and Storytelling Competition on Safe, Regular, and Orderly Labour MigrationInternational Labour Organization (ILO) – Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) Programme

Travel and accommodation covered for first-place winners (no cash prize stated)Africa25 Nov

Competition · Partly fundedGlobal Debate Championship 2026 — Harvard Merdeka EditionVOOICE Assembly USA (European Voice Assembly)

Fully funded: round-trip airfare, 5-day shared 4-star accommodation, meals and championship access (listed at €12.99). Partially funded: accommodation, meals and access, excluding airfare (€699). Self-funded: event access and visa support (€1,199), excluding airfare and with independent travel arrangements.Open worldwide1 Dec

Competition · Partly fundedErase Indifference Challenge 2026Erase Indifference (Auschwitz Pledge Foundation)

€90,000 total: 1 × €20,000 main award and 7 × €10,000 awardsOpen worldwide4 Dec

Prize · Partly fundedQoG Best Paper Award 2026Quality of Government (QoG) Institute, University of Gothenburg

A week as a guest scholar at the QoG Institute, with travel to and from Gothenburg and accommodation covered.Open worldwide9 Dec

Competition · Partly fundedInternational Machine Learning Competition 2026IMLC (International Machine Learning Competition)

Prizes and awards worth a total of 1,500 USD: 1st/2nd/3rd prizes of 250/175/125 USD (Senior), 200/150/100 USD (Youth), 175/125/100 USD (Junior); plus national awards, Gold/Silver/Bronze honours and participation certificates.Open worldwide13 Dec

Prize · Partly fundedLand and Soil Management Award 2026/2027European Landowners' Organization (ELO)

€5,000 award plus a diploma of recognitionOpen worldwide31 Jan

CompetitionPan-African Re/Insurance Journalism Awards 2027Continental Reinsurance Plc

Not statedAfrica31 Jan

Competition · Partly fundedSt. Gallen Symposium Global Ideas Competition 2027St. Gallen Symposium (International Students' Committee)

CHF 20,000 total prize fund for three awardees; expenses-paid participation for top 100 selectedOpen worldwide1 Feb

Prize · Partly funded2027 Human Rights Essay AwardAcademy on Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law

Full tuition scholarship (travel, housing and per diem not included) for each of two awardsOpen worldwide3 Feb

Competition · Partly fundedSADC Media Awards Competition 2027SADC Secretariat

USD 14,000 in total prizes (US$2,500 first prize and US$1,000 runner-up in each of four categories)Africa28 Feb

Competition · Partly fundedMicrosoft Imagine Cup 2027 Startups CompetitionMicrosoft (Imagine Cup / Microsoft for Startups)

Imagine Cup Champion: US$250,000 cash plus US$1,000,000 in startup credits; Second place: US$50,000 cash and US$350,000 credits; Third place: US$25,000 cash and US$350,000 credits; Top Student Startup: US$25,000 cash and US$250,000 credits; Category Winners and Top 20 Startups also recognised with mentorship and enterprise access.Open worldwide28 Feb

Competition · UnfundedRobotics for Good Youth Challenge 2026-2027 (participation)International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Not statedOpen worldwide1 Apr