14 Invention Competitions for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 19 minutes ago
- 14 min read
If solving problems and building things sounds more interesting to you than a typical classroom project, an invention competition is worth checking out. You're asked to build something original that meets a real need, whether that's a medical device, a sustainability solution, or assistive technology, and turn it from an idea into something that actually functions. You'll look into existing solutions, prototype your design, test and adjust it, take feedback seriously, and be ready to explain why it works. Many competitions also connect you with engineers, researchers, and industry professionals who'll see your work firsthand.
Why should I participate in an invention competition in high school?
Invention competitions let you take what you've learned in science, engineering, math, and technology and put it toward something real. Rather than finishing an assignment for a grade, you're creating something with an actual purpose and improving it through testing and iteration.
They also add real weight to college applications, demonstrating sustained focus on a single idea over time. Whatever field you're aiming for, engineering, product design, medicine, or another STEM path, an invention competition gives you a practical way into that interest, with a project you can keep building on long after the competition ends.
To help you get started, we've compiled a list of 14 invention competitions for high school students!
If you’re looking for engineering challenges, check out our blog here.
Key takeaways
These competitions span engineering, software development, sustainability, water science, biomimicry, business innovation, and HVAC design, so students with a wide range of technical and entrepreneurial interests can find a relevant competition.
Prize values vary significantly, from $100 to $400 (ASBE Foundation) to $25,000 to $100,000 (Davidson Fellows), with several competitions, such as Conrad Challenge and ISEF, also offering non-monetary prizes such as patent support, travel, and mentorship.
Most competitions are team-based and virtual, making them accessible to students regardless of location, though several, such as ISEF, Diamond Challenge, and Conrad Challenge, include in-person finals for top teams.
Deadlines are spread across the academic year, with early deadlines including ASHRAE (November 30) and Davidson Fellows (February 18), and later deadlines including Blue Ocean (February 22) and National Innovator Challenge (June 19).
Prize/Award: ISEF offers a wide array of awards in a variety of categories, in addition to fair-wide Grand Awards. Cash prizes range from $600 - $100,000, plus special prizes such as fully-funded travel to Nobel Week in Stockholm, Sweden.
Format: Individual or small group, in-person (location varies yearly), requires qualification from preliminary rounds.
Competition Dates: One week in May
Registration Deadline: Submitted by your qualifying fair’s director; dates vary, but fairs must be held on or before April 13 for finalists to be eligible. Projects requiring special approval must be submitted to the affiliated fair director by February 15.
Eligibility: Must qualify through an affiliated regional science fair; dates and processes vary by area.
Regeneron’s ISEF is a renowned international science fair with a strong focus on invention, inviting the top high school researchers from around the world to compete for prizes of up to $100,000. With winning projects ranging from an affordable toxic dust detector, to a new antiviral medication, to a brain-powered prosthetic leg, this competition honors novel and innovative innovations. You’ll first compete in a qualifying science fair in your region, where a select number of projects will be selected for ISEF. You’ll enter in the best-fitting category across 22 different STEM fields, then deliver a presentation on your invention to expert judges from industry and academic research. Outside of the competition, you’ll have opportunities to network with prestigious scientists, prepare for plans at the college and career fair, and attend specialized STEM symposia.
Prize/Award: Scholarships of $25,000–$100,000
Format: Individual or 2-person team, remote submission, in-person ceremony, one round
Competition Dates: Awardees are announced in July; the ceremony is held in September
Registration Deadline: February 18
Eligibility: Students aged 18 or younger by the application deadline. Must be a U.S. citizen residing in the United States, or a Permanent Resident of the United States residing in the United States, or be stationed overseas due to active U.S. military duty. Projects are expected to be at or near college graduate-level quality.
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship recognizes high school students whose original projects demonstrate exceptional creativity and the potential to create meaningful impact. The program rewards substantial independent work across fields, including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature, music, philosophy, and the interdisciplinary "Outside the Box" category. If you're applying with an invention, you'll submit a research paper along with supporting materials, such as prototypes or visual models, for evaluation by experts in your field. Past winning projects have tackled complex challenges ranging from brain-computer interface prosthetics and artificial intelligence to advanced medical technologies and engineering innovations. Awards range from $25,000 to $100,000, making it one of the most prestigious scholarship competitions for young researchers and inventors in the United States.
Prizes: Prizes include a fully funded international trip to visit STEM institutions, networking with industry figures, patent support from IP attorneys, and academic scholarships.
Format: Team-based (2-5 students), virtual and in-person (invitational Innovation Summit is held in Houston, TX), three rounds
Competition Dates: Activation Stage: August - October | Innovation Stage: October - January | Power Pitch/Summit: Four days in April
Registration/Submission Deadlines: Initial Submission: Late October | Innovation Stage Materials: early January | Finalist Materials: Early April | Financial Aid Applications: Early December
Eligibility: Teams of 2-5 students aged 13-18. Teams must have a coach aged 18+. The competition is international.
The Conrad Challenge is an entrepreneurship and invention competition with a focus on social impact. In your initial submission, you’ll identify a global challenge you intend to address through a STEM-focused solution, providing a brief pitch on your focus area, business model, and invention. You’ll specialize within a scientific field of your choice, with options including Energy and Environment, Cyber Technology and Security, and Aerospace and Aviation. You’ll then work to progress through three rounds of competition, including a project brief and video, culminating with an in-person Summit for the top innovations. In this final stage, you’ll present an in-person slide deck on your invention to a panel of industry experts. You’ll be evaluated for a wide range of prizes, ranging from cash awards to legal support in patenting your invention.
Prizes: 1st Place: $12,000 | Second Place: $8,000 | 3rd Place: $4,500 | Corporate-sponsored special awards are also given at varying amounts.
Format: Team-based (2-4 students), virtual (apart from invitational final, Limitless World Summit in Wilmington, DE), three rounds
Competition Dates: September 17 - April 24 (World Summit is held April 23-24)
Registration Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school students aged 14-18. Teams must consist of 2-4 students plus one adult advisor aged 21+. The competition is international.
The Diamond Challenge is an opportunity for business-minded students with a talent for invention to compete at the international level. You’ll identify a market gap or social problem, participating in either the Business Innovation or Social Innovation track to develop an invention idea and business model. You’ll first provide an initial written and video submission laying out the issue you plan to address, your intended solution, how it stands out over existing options, and a basic business plan. If you advance to the Pitch Round, you’ll develop a pitch deck including more refined elements such as a clear economic strategy and invention prototypes. At the World Summit, you’ll deliver a final pitch and present an invention prototype to a panel of expert judges. Winners will be determined based on the efficacy of the team presentation, Q&A, and invention. The top teams will win monetary awards of up to $12,000, and all World Summit attendees will be considered for other industry-specific Topical Awards. Recent winning inventions include a fingerprint-protected gun lock, autonomous litter-collecting robots, and wearable migraine-predictive technology.
Prize/Award: National online recognition, physical certificate/trophy presented at the #HouseOfCode event in Washington, D.C., and other publicity opportunities. Special prizes are also awarded (e.g., Most Impactful or Most Technically Complex)
Format: Individual or team (up to 4 team members)
Competition Dates: Competition opens in May; Winners are announced in December.
Registration Deadline: October 26
Eligibility: Current middle and high school students who are U.S. residents. There are no citizenship restrictions. Students may compete in the district in which they reside (if attending school in another district, students may choose their preferred submission district). For teams, at least half of the participants must reside within their chosen district.
The Congressional App Challenge is a prestigious, federally organized invention competition for high schoolers and middle schoolers with a focus on computer science and software development. You’ll work individually or in a small group to develop an original app, and be given independence in the choice of your app’s theme or topic. You’ll have the ability to leverage your primary coding trends, as apps may be developed using any programming language and be designed for any platform, from web apps to robotics. Out of each district, one team or individual submission will be named the winner, determined by selection criteria including technical sophistication, creativity, and community impact. If selected as a winner, you’ll receive national recognition online and at the in-person #HouseOfCode event, at which you’ll display your app at the U.S. Capitol Building, meet your Representatives, and network with major corporate sponsors and policymakers.
Prize/Award: $1,500 and NASA mentorship/technical support to build and execute their invention, to be launched in a NASA flight test.
Format: Team, virtual with in-person flight test for winners, one round
Competition Dates: Winners are announced in late January
Registration Deadline: Registration opens in September; deadline not specified | Check website for updates.
Eligibility: Grades 6-12 attending public, private, or charter schools in the U.S. or its territories. An educator mentor is required.
NASA’s TechRise Competition challenges small teams of high school and middle school students to invent a new scientific technology for space and aeronautics research. You’ll apply skills across physics, engineering, computer science, and more, working towards a product that can be used for experiments on suborbital aerial vehicles. You’ll work on your innovation over the course of a semester, which will ultimately be evaluated by scientists from NASA and major industry flight providers. If you’re named one of the top 60 teams, you will be awarded a prize of $1,500. You’ll also receive personal mentorship from NASA to refine your project, which will then be launched in a suborbital spacecraft or high-altitude balloon flight test. Past winning inventions include research technologies studying radiation, volatile organic compounds, acoustic levitation, and more.
Prize/Award: $15,000 scholarship, crystal sculpture, and fully-funded trip to World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden
Format: Individual or pair, virtual with in-person awards in Stockholm, two rounds
Competition Dates: World Water Week is held in April
Registration Deadline: Varies
Eligibility: Students aged 15-20. The competition is international.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is a research and invention competition for high school and college students around the world focused on addressing major water challenges. You’ll be tasked with inventing a novel solution to environmental water challenges, tackling concerns such as water quality, water management, or wastewater treatment through technology, natural science, and/or social science research approaches. You’ll first compete on a national level; the top submission will be nominated for the international award. Your work will then be evaluated by a prestigious panel of water research experts from across the world; if you’re named the winner, you’ll be presented with a $15,000 scholarship and a crystal sculpture from the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Past winners’ inventions include novel methods for controlling soil runoff, a smartphone-compatible water quality monitor, and nanotechnology-based electronic water waste removal.
Prize/Award: International recognition
Format: Team, virtual (in-person awards and exhibition for winners)
Competition Dates: Project Work/Coaching Sessions: February/March | Peer Review: February 28 - March 15 | Final Submission: April 1 | Awards/Exhibition: May
Registration Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: Grades 9-12. (A middle school category is also offered.) The competition is international.
The Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge is an invention competition for high school students with an interest in conservation and unique design processes. Drawing from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, you’ll identify a specific problem to address through an original invention inspired by nature. You’ll begin your submission by researching your chosen environmental concern and exploring how plants and animals respond to similar circumstances in nature, then invent a technology, infrastructure, or product prototype based on your findings. You’ll ultimately submit images of your prototype, a visual portfolio, a video pitch, and a written breakdown of your research and design process, emphasizing the biological system(s) that informed your invention. Past winning inventions include flood reduction infrastructure inspired by mangroves and beavers, solar concentrators inspired by oriental hornets, kelp-inspired underwater electricity generators, and more.
Prize/Award: National recognition and qualification to the Global Innovation Challenge; other prizes may be awarded.
Format: Individual or small group (up to 3 students), virtual, two rounds
Competition Dates: July 10 - 19 | Awards: July 27
Registration Deadline: June 19
Eligibility: Students in grades K-12 (aged 5-19) from the U.S. Participants must not have graduated high school, apart from seniors who entered the competition before graduation.
The National Innovator Challenge is an invention competition for high school students offering both nationwide recognition and a chance to compete on the international level. You’ll invent an app, product prototype, or innovation idea of your design, tracking your work progress along the way in a detailed logbook. You’ll submit materials documenting your invention, such as code, prototype images, or blueprints, to the competition. You’ll also provide big-picture details on how your invention targets and addresses a social or industry need through a slide deck and a pitch video. If you’re named one of the top entries, you’ll receive professional feedback on your invention and move forward to a live virtual event to present your project to the judging panel. Beyond the quality of your invention, you’ll be evaluated on factors including the strength of your problem identification, research, and validation methods, the impact of your solution, and originality. Based on your performance, you may advance to the Global Innovator Challenge.
Prize/Award: Prizes of $100 - $400
Format: Individual, virtual (in-person awards reception), one round
Competition Dates: Awards Celebration: April 23
Registration Deadline: April 3
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 with a background in CAD
The American Society of Body Engineers (ASBE) Foundation’s High School Engineering Design Challenge is a technical invention competition for high school students, offering a unique focus on industrial and product engineering. You’ll work from a professional-style brief detailing a specialized product (most recently, a functional rear deck air spoiler), then design an invention prototype meeting a wide array of functional requirements and specifications. You’ll be tasked with submitting a written documentation alongside product renders, CAD files, and sketches from multiple angles, demonstrating proper development and assembly of each component of your invented product; you may also include photographs of a physical model if you’re able to create a 3D prototype. You’ll be judged based on the technical quality and creativity of your work; if you’re named one of the top 8 competitors, you’ll earn a monetary prize of up to $400. You may also choose to compete in the Design Concept category, which provides a similar competition experience that emphasizes conceptual and aesthetic elements over practical engineering invention. Winning submissions can be seen here.
Prize/Award: National recognition
Format: Individual or team (up to 3 members), virtual, two rounds
Competition Dates: Regional Winners announced: April 7. Regional Winners Day: May 16
Registration Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Current 9th-12th grade students residing within the U.S.
The Smithsonian-sponsored National High School Design Competition is a multidisciplinary competition focused on developing solutions to global challenges. Working from an open-ended yearly prompt, you’ll create a prototype for an invention of your choice with potential fields spanning across infrastructure, technology, user products, and more. You’ll submit a technical sketch prototype of your invention and provide written documentation of your approach, rationale, and connection to the year’s theme. After the regional evaluation, winners will advance to the national round. Here, your work will be judged by a prestigious panel of inventors and designers, including 30 Under 30 recipients and curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the top entries will receive national awards. Recent winning inventions include portable pollution-capturing biofilters, patent-pending stirrups for horseback riders with mobility disabilities, and sensory-friendly desks for kindergarteners.
Prize/Award: 1st Place: $1,500 | 2nd Place: $1,000 | 3rd Place: $500 | Funds are intended for use as seed capital to launch or grow their idea, product, or business.
Format: Individual or small group, virtual, two rounds
Competition Dates: One week in mid-May
Registration Deadline: April 17
Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens and reside within the U.S. or its territories.
Hosted by the University of Iowa’s Jacobson Institute, the BizInnovator Startup Innovator Competition is an opportunity for high school inventors with a business-oriented mindset to gain funding and recognition for their innovations. You’ll submit a preliminary Executive Summary including a product description, your business model, market research, the current status of your business, and photos of your product. After evaluating the quality of your submission from both financial and innovation perspectives, judges will decide whether you’ll move forward to the finalist round. In this stage, you’ll deliver a live virtual elevator pitch to a panel of professional entrepreneurs and participate in a Q&A. If you’re named one of the top three finalists, you’ll receive a cash prize to turn your invention into a startup or, if applicable, grow your existing business.
Prize/Award: Prizes range from $500 - $1,000
Format: Team or small group, virtual, four rounds
Dates: Registration opens for the following year before the current competition cycle ends, though submissions are not due until late February. Final awards are announced in May.
Submission Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school students (ages 14-18) are eligible. The competition is international.
The Blue Ocean Competition is an international business and invention competition focused on designing product-based solutions for an untapped market. You’ll start by taking a mandatory mini-course on Blue Ocean strategy to prepare, learning methods in compelling pitches, demonstrating value, reducing business risk, and creating practical inventions. You’ll then develop a business concept centered around an invention of your own design, submitting a brief video pitch breaking down your product and how it addresses the needs of your target market. You’ll be challenged to progress through four rounds, ranging from preliminary submissions to the top-10 pitch competition, and evaluated on the strength of your business proposal, invention, and market relevance. Top competitors are also eligible for the public-voting-based People’s Choice award. Past winning inventions include food packaging materials with real-time product freshness sensing, gait-analyzing shoe inserts for early-stage Parkinson’s detection, and more.
Prize/Award: 1st: $1,000 | 2nd: $500 | 3rd: $300 | All winners also receive a certificate and recognition in the Insights publication
Format: Individual or team (1-5), virtual, one round
Competition Dates: Competition Opens: August 11 | Submission Deadline: December 30 | Winners Announced: March 1
Registration Deadline: November 30
Eligibility: Students aged 13-18. The competition is international.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) High School Design Competition is a unique opportunity for high school inventors focused on industrial design and engineering. You’ll address a professional-level installation objective by developing an HVAC system proposal for a large building, tailored to the various room sizes, capacities, temperature needs, and other factors for each room. You’ll apply engineering-focused invention skills while drawing from principles in physics, environmental studies, and architecture to factor energy calculations, environmental quality, and structural feasibility into your proposal. Your final submission will include a detailed graphic model, a written narrative on your process and approach, and calculations for energy and sizing. You’ll be judged by industry professionals from ASHRAE on factors including technical abilities, creativity, adherence to requirements, and the ability for your system to be implemented.
Frequently asked questions
What invention competitions are available for high school students?
Options include large-scale science and engineering competitions, such as ISEF and Davidson Fellows, sustainability and environmental competitions, such as Stockholm Junior Water Prize, Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge, and Conrad Challenge, software and app competitions, such as Congressional App Challenge and National Innovator Challenge, and business-focused competitions, such as Diamond Challenge, BizInnovator, and Blue Ocean.
Are there invention competitions for high school students focused on sustainability or the environment?
Yes, Stockholm Junior Water Prize focuses specifically on water challenges, the Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge requires solutions inspired by nature, and Conrad Challenge includes an Energy and Environment track. Blue Ocean and Diamond Challenge also accept sustainability-focused inventions.
Which invention competitions offer the largest prizes for high school students?
Davidson Fellows offers scholarships of $25,000 to $100,000, ISEF offers cash prizes up to $100,000 across categories, and Diamond Challenge awards up to $12,000 to top teams. Stockholm Junior Water Prize offers a $15,000 scholarship alongside a fully funded trip to Stockholm.
When should I start preparing for invention competitions as a high school student?
Students aiming for ISEF should begin working on their project and qualifying fair submission by early fall. Conrad Challenge opens in August, ASHRAE opens in August with a November registration deadline, and Davidson Fellows requires submission by February 18. Most competitions require several months of development before the deadline, so starting early in the school year is strongly recommended.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.