Got a tech idea that could help people? Samsung Solve for Tomorrow wants to hear it

You do not need a lab, a budget or a coding qualification to have a good engineering idea. You need a problem you care about and a bit of nerve. That is the pitch behind Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, which is back for its seventh year and open to anyone aged 11 to 18 at a school or college in the UK or Ireland.^[1]

It is a free tech-for-good competition. You can enter on your own or in a team of up to four, and you pick one of three categories: Smarter Sport, Greener Future or Safer Online.^[2] Then you come up with a technology idea that makes something better for people or the planet.

Past winners give a sense of the range. One student built a device that warns users before an asthma attack starts. Another designed one that scans wounds to monitor how they are healing. Neither started as a finished product. Both started as a classroom idea.

How it works

There are three stages.

• Imagine it: develop your idea between now and the entry deadline on 18 January 2027.^[3]
• Make it: 24 semi-finalists get support to develop their idea, with a deadline of 15 March 2027.^[4]
• Pitch it: nine finalists present to a panel of experts at the final on 29 and 30 April 2027.^[5]

Judges look at impact, use of technology, design process, feasibility, people and planet, and creativity.^[6] Notice that polish is not on the list. Thinking is.

Why it is worth your time

Student prizes include mentoring, work experience with Samsung, some of the company’s latest tech and the chance to see your idea on the big screen at Piccadilly Circus.^[7] Work experience inside a global technology company is hard to come by at this age, so that one stands out.

Even if you never reach the final, you come away with something concrete to talk about in a personal statement, an interview or an application for a programme like the ones we list on this site. Presenting an idea you built yourself is a skill, and last year’s entrants say it changed how confident they felt.

For teachers

It can run in a single lesson, over several form-time sessions or as independent study, and it does not need specialist technology knowledge. Schools that submit five or more entries become Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Schools and unlock extra prize draws.^[8]

Ready to enter?

Read the full details on our Samsung Solve for Tomorrow opportunity page, then register for the free resources at solvefortomorrowuk.com. The deadline is 18 January 2027, which sounds a long way off until it is not.