How it works:
For Students
Sign up as a group of 2-5 today and start solving the world's biggest problems!
How It Works
Register
Getting started takes just a few minutes — click below to head to the right sign-up page for you.
Whether you're a student, mentor, or teacher, registration points you to the right pathway. Once you're in, we'll guide you through everything that comes next.
Quick & Simple
Sign-up takes only a few minutes — no lengthy forms or commitments to get started.
Open to Everyone
Students, mentors, and teachers are all welcome. Choose the path that fits you.
Find out how the registration process works.
Get Matched with a Mentor
We pair you with a university academic or researcher whose expertise matches your interests.
Your mentor becomes your guide for the duration of the program — meeting regularly, sharing their knowledge, and helping you shape your project.
Expert Guidance
Get feedback, advice, and direction from someone working at the cutting edge of STEM research.
Lasting Connections
Build a relationship that often extends well beyond the program itself.
Define Your Challenge
With your mentor, choose a real-world problem you want to tackle.
Explore current issues, narrow them into a focused research question, and set the scope of your project.
Find What Matters
Investigate problems that are meaningful to you and connect to current research.
Sharpen the Question
Refine a broad idea into something specific you can investigate.
Build Your Solution
Turn your challenge into a concept, prototype, or research outcome.
Run experiments, build models, test ideas, and iterate with your mentor's input until your solution works.
Prototype
Build a first version — a model, design, or working concept that brings your idea to life.
Iterate
Test, get feedback, and refine. The best projects go through several rounds.
Submit
Pull your work together and submit your final project for review.
Package your project as a polished submission — clear, complete, and ready for judging.
Final Check
Confirm your submission meets every requirement before the deadline.
Tell the Story
Communicate not just what you built, but how you got there.
Symposium
Present your work to peers, mentors, academics, and industry partners at our annual Symposium.
Showcase your project, connect with other students and researchers, and celebrate everything you've built across the program.
Showcase
Present your work to an audience that includes university academics and industry partners.
Celebrate
Recognise the months of work, learning, and growth that got you here.
Eligibility
Who Can Enter
The BIOTech Futures Challenge is open to high school students who:
- ✓ Are in years 9–12
- ✓ Are interested in science, engineering, and innovation
- ✓ Have access to the internet and a device to communicate with their mentor
- ✓ Have an adult supervisor — a teacher or parent
- ✓ Can be from anywhere — the challenge is fully virtual
What Is The Challenge?
When you sign up, you will be allocated a topic and a mentor. Your team will work together with the support of your mentor to create a poster presenting your innovative solution to the problem. You will also answer some short-answer questions to provide additional information. Finalists will then get the chance to present their project at our annual Symposium! You can learn more by reading our guidebook.
Judging
How Judging Works
Initial Judging
A panel of judges marks each submitted poster and the supporting short-answer questions. This stage gives a clear picture of your research, ideation, and verification process.
Double Marking
All submissions are then double-marked using the same criteria as Part 1. The top 25 entries are selected to move into the final judging round, and you'll be notified if your submission progresses.
Live Symposium
Finalists present their project at a live, in-person Symposium in their local area (where available) to a panel of judges. See our Chapters page to find out whether your region runs a Symposium. Students are asked one additional question during this round, and a rubric is provided in advance so you know what markers are looking for. Winners are announced on the day across multiple categories.
Other Submissions
Alongside the main competition, teams have the option to submit a written report and/or a prototype for their project. These are judged in a separate category from the presentations, with a winning report and a winning prototype chosen each year.
What Topics Can You Investigate?
Marking Criteria
Poster
- Identify the problem or research question.
- Justify and quantify the problem.
- Provide a detailed solution.
- Support the solution with the team's research.
- Explain the solution's impact and technological feasibility.
- Identify future or required research.
- Use a clear visual layout with diagrams, images, and data.
Short Answer Questions
- Address the question with a clear claim.
- Maintain focus throughout the response.
- Be reflective and provide evidence.
- Explain how the evidence supports the claim.
- Use logical structure, formal language, and correct grammar.
- Include team-collected or referenced data.
Prototype
- Show originality.
- Use effective visual design.
- Demonstrate appropriate complexity.
- Show strong construction.
- Clearly represent the team's design.
Scientific Report
- Use credible sources, including recent papers.
- Identify the research question through the literature review.
- Show the design development process.
- Identify and justify the proposed solution.
- Explain innovation, feasibility, and solution impact.
- Identify future or required research.
- Include diagrams, images, data, and matching references.