‘Solve for Tomorrow’ competition to bring Gen Z Ideas to Life
Published: 05 February, 2021
Samsung Electronics has launched ‘Solve for Tomorrow’, a youth competition, running for the first time in the UK. The programme brings compassion, education and technology together to help young people nurture and create solutions to their local community’s most pressing problems within four key challenge areas: education, sustainability, diversity & inclusion, and social isolation.
Solve for Tomorrow encourages 16-25 year olds to submit their tech ideas either as individuals or groups irrespective of their qualifications, existing knowledge or experience in STEM. The competition includes three distinct rounds where participants will be supported to develop their ideas through a range of masterclasses, workshops and coaching. This will cover design-thinking, digital technologies and business skills, as well as one-to-one mentoring from Samsung employees.
This is the first time Solve for Tomorrow will be available in the UK, building on 10 years of experience running in other countries across the globe. With a focus on delivering a hyper-local impact, UK participants are encouraged to develop ideas to address real life issues that affect local communities, but also them as individuals. The initiative follows Samsung’s Not a School programme, an unorthodox educational experience that empowers future generations to achieve their full potential, offering participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in the same four core themes that Solve for Tomorrow is focused around.
In the UK, the Solve for Tomorrow programme is delivered in partnership with Digital Catapult, the UK’s leading advanced digital technology innovation centre, which will bring invaluable expertise in delivering programmes that are deeply rooted in the UK’s innovation-led ecosystem. Supporting the competition from end-to-end, Digital Catapult will help participants to develop and evolve their tech ideas into solutions that support local communities.
As part of the first round, applicants are invited to submit their ideas and an optional creative presentation by 21st February 2021 via an online form on Samsung.com. Entries will be judged by Samsung, Digital Catapult and independent industry experts based on a selection of criteria including creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. Shortlisted ideas will be announced on 8th March 2021.
Selected participants will be supported to refine and prototype their ideas and the winner will be announced in July 2021 following a competitive pitch process. The winner will benefit from up to six months’ worth of support from Samsung and Digital Catapult to help develop their idea, as well as a £10,000 cash prize and Samsung technology. There will be further cash and product prizes for runners up.
Commenting on the launch, Jessie Soohyun Park, head of corporate social responsibility at Samsung Electronics UK said: “Every young person deserves access to a future-proof education - regardless of their background, gender, or experience. But there remain inequalities which cast a shameful shadow on our society. Education is the bedrock of society. We believe it is our duty to help equip the next generation with the vital skills to thrive in a technology-driven future.
“We owe young people the freedom and the right to shape their future. That’s why the education initiatives we champion are not prescriptive teaching but instead nurture creativity, empathy and problemsolving.”
Geraldina Iraheta, director of business development at Digital Catapult added: “Innovation thrives when diverse voices representing different backgrounds and viewpoints come together; it’s a fundamental part of bringing out the best of ideas and creating innovative answers to age old problems.
We’re thrilled to work with Samsung to launch Solve for Tomorrow in the UK for the first time, and so excited to see what ideas the imaginative, creative and resilient young people of this country will come up with.”
According to Samsung’s Compassion Nation 2020 report, 90% of 18-25-year old believe that technology is key to achieving a more inclusive, fair and sustainable society. Yet, 56% feel that finding opportunities to make a positive impact on the world is a challenge right now, let alone being able to access the same education/training opportunities as before the pandemic.
Originally launched in the US in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow has seen over 1.6M young people worldwide involved in the programme, creating innovative solutions, such as a low-cost fire sensors and a smart, convertible wheelchair-walker that provides the elderly with safe mobility and greater independence.
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