STEM Competition

2025 Results

Top 10

Special Awards

Honorable Mentions

Results Resources

See the results powerpoint or watch the meeting:

View Results PowerPoint | Watch Recording of Results Meeting

About the Competition

This 2025 Future of STEM Competition is a unique opportunity for students aged 14-19 to showcase their research and problem-solving skills in addressing pressing global challenges. Participants will chose a question, perform scientific research, and propose an innovative solution, showcasing their findings through visual media. The competition is organised by the Scholarly Service Society (SSS) and supported by Leaf.

This competition ran in Fall 2025 and is now completed. You can see results and winning submissions further down the page. Hopefully this competition should be running again in Summer 2026, so watch this page for updates!

1. The Problem

The first step in a strong submission is choosing the right problem. Some problems are big and urgent, but already receive a lot of attention. Others might be solvable but don’t affect that many people. To help you think carefully, we encourage you to use the ITN framework:

Importance: How big is the problem? How many lives or how much of the planet does it affect?
Tractability: How solvable is it? Could extra effort or resources actually make progress?
Neglectedness: How many people are already working on this? If very few, your idea might have more impact.

Your submission should explain the problem you’ve chosen and why it matters, drawing on these ITN considerations. This will help judges see that you’ve thought about scale and impact, not just a familiar or comfortable issue. Below are some links for you to get inspiration about current issues:

2. Research

Look into an area of STEM of your interest, and research something that can help solve the problem you selected. This can be, from any part of STEM you like, and you can get as techincal as you want.

3. Solution

Using your research, link back to your problem and propose a solution for it. This should bring together the future of STEM, innovation and most importantly, your problem. You should link your research into this, showing off your technical understanding and vision for the future.

Presentation

Present your research and solution through a form of visual media, such as a poster, max 3-minute video, leaflet, or 10-slide slideshow. Ensure to include references in any recognisable format. Additionally, provide a 2000-character abstract summarising your research and proposed solution . For an example of a form of visual media, we have attached a research poster here. This poster, made by students in less time and with a different structure, can give you an idea of how you could present your research.

Judging

After you have submitted your research and the deadline has passed, your submission will be judged by multiple judges, all of which will have expertise either directly or indirectly linked to the area of STEM you have researched. All submissions will be scored based on a rubric, with scores then being compiled and put in order to get the final standings.

Prizes

Details of prizes can be found in the prizes section of the website. Apart from cash prizes, the top 3 will get direct entry into Leaf's 2026 Finalist Cohort for their very competitive programme, and the top 10 will all directly get mentoring from someone with expertise in their field of interest.

In order to submit, you must sign up first, following which you will receive an email with further details and the link to submit.

The Organisations

The Scholarly Service Society (SSS), is a youth-led non-profit organisation that encourages teenagers to get involved in their communities through volunteering and service. It was founded in early 2024 by two high school students in New Jersey, Pahul Virk and Yusuf Dagli, and since then it has grown to include ten chapters across six different countries. The whole idea behind SSS is to inspire young people like us to make a difference, whether this is by helping our local communities or getting involved in meaningful projects.

The Columbus Chapter of the SSS is the first chapter started by the founders, and runs events such as cleanups, workshops, and more. The chapter has also partnered with other orgs in the US to make a bigger impact.

The London chapter of SSS was launched in August 2024 by Ishbir Singh and Tharul Wanni Arachchige. The chapter's main events include webinars and online workshops rather than cleanups, creating opportunities for young people to connect with each other and also to learn more about the world and life after school.

Overall, we want to play our part in making the world a better place for everyone, whether that means helping the environment or supporting those in need.

Leaf is an educational organisation that helps young people explore how to use their skills to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. Through fellowships, problem-solving programmes and mentorship, Leaf connects motivated students with the network to tackle issues in global health, climate change and emerging technologies. Alumni go on to launch impactful projects, join leading universities and contribute to high-impact organisations around the world.

Who Can Participate?

Open to students aged 14–19
Individual
An interest in STEM and the Future

Competition Timeline

📅 6th September 2025

Signups Open

📅 15th September 2025

Submissions Open

📅 10th October 2025

Submissions Close

📅 25th October 2025

Results

Submission Guidelines

✔ Submit a form of Visual Media presenting your research
✔ Include your chosen question, research, and solution
✔ Attach a 2000-Character Abstract
✔ Deadline: 10th October 2025

Prizes

4th Place
£35 + Mentorship

🥈 2nd Place
£50 , Mentorship, Direct Entry to 2026 Leaf Finalist Cohort

🥇 1st Place
£75 , Mentorship, Direct Entry to 2026 Leaf Finalist Cohort

🥉 3rd Place
£40 , Mentorship, Direct Entry to 2026 Leaf Finalist Cohort

5th Place
£25 + Mentorship

6th–10th Place

£10 & Mentorship by a professional in your area of interest

Participation

All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation. Addtionally, all entries will be considered for 4 extra, special awards: Best Presented, Best Researched, Most Innovative, and Most Technical.

Judging

Judges

Below you can see the judges that make up our judging team, covering a wide range of subjects and industrial disciplines within STEM.

Criteria

Your submission will be judged on the following aspects:

Problem Identification
The importance and relevance of your issue and your explanation of why it matters.
Research
Engagement with high-quality, relevant sources, and how deep you go into it.
Innovation
Originality and creativity of your solution.
Feasibility
How feasible your solution is, taking constraints into mind.
Accuracy & Technicality
How scientifically sound your research is, along with how technical it is.
Communication & Presentation
How clearly you have presented your research in a professional and engaging way.

After the results are released, you will also be provided anonymised feedback from the judges that scored your entry, to help you realise where you did well and where you could have improved

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

For any questions, reach out to us at scholarlyservicesociety@gmail.com