Enter the Ingenious+ Youth Innovation Challenge!

Are you passionate about generating solutions to Community, Canadian, and Global challenges?

Ingenious+ gives youth in Canada aged 14 to 18 the opportunity to innovate for good, and to share strategies for improving our world. Innovation is about doing something better to make an impact.

This includes improving upon a product, service, process, or creating something new that solves a problem or makes the world a better place. Tell us what you hope to solve or improve in your community or beyond, and you could receive financial support, learning opportunities and mentorship from leading Canadian innovators!

What are the prizes?

Stage One

Youths ages 14 to 18 years can apply to Ingenious+ to receive a $1,000 Regional Award as well as learning opportunities to grow their innovations.

Stage Two

$1,000 Regional Award recipients from stage one will have an opportunity to participate in the national competition.
One $10,000 cash award plus mentorship and learning opportunities will be awarded in the each of the five categories:
Community and Civic Engagement
Climate Change and the Environment
Equity and Inclusion
Health and Well-being
Technology and Entrepreneurship
National award recipients will be celebrated during Canadian Innovation Week, May 15th to 19th, 2023.

Key dates

Submissions will be accepted from December 12th, 2022 to February 28th, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Eligibility criteria

You can submit as an individual or as a team.

To be eligible to enter, you must:

Have parental or legal guardian permission to participate.
You and your team members must be 14 to 18 years old:
having reached your 14th birthday and not yet reached your 19th birthday at time of entry.
Your innovation project must be led and created by youth living in Canada.

How can I participate?

Check your eligibility above.
Explore Ingenious+ for inspiration.
Read the judging criteria to help guide your submission.
Upload your entry using the application portal. We will ask you to answer questions about your innovation project based on the judging criteria, and to include a minimum of one image of your innovation.
Upload your entry using the online form or via video in the application portal.

If you have any questions, check out our FAQs, read the rules or get in touch.

What are we looking for?

Projects can be entrepreneurial, scientific, social or community innovations. Any topic within the following themes is acceptable:
Community and Civic Engagement
Climate Change and the Environment
Equity and Inclusion
Health and Well-being
Technology and Entrepreneurship
Ideally, you should be beyond the idea phase. If possible, demonstrate that you’ve put your idea into action, even if only in a small way.
The entry form will prompt you with questions that give us an overview of your innovation.
All entries will be judged using the judging criteria. Use this to guide you as you fill in your entry form and decide what supporting material you want to attach.

What are the Ingenious+ themes for year two?

The themes are listed below. Applicants, can apply for one or more of these categories:

Community and Civic Engagement 

Innovating for a better country: Your innovation works for the common good by addressing community issues through civic action that strengthens the world locally and beyond.

Climate Change and the Environment 

Innovating for a green future: Your innovation helps in the fight against climate change, promotes sustainability, and/or benefits the environment.

Equity and Inclusion

Innovating for a fair and just tomorrow: your innovation focuses on improving the world around you by removing barriers and promoting equity.

Health and Well-being

Innovating to heal: your innovation addresses the challenges facing the physical or mental health of the public.

Technology and Entrepreneurship

Innovate to grow: your innovation finds new and improved ways of addressing today’s many challenges through a business venture, technology and/or artificial intelligence.

funding

Ingenious+ Youth Innovation Challenge