Big prizes for big thinkers

What you'll win: a trophy and £500

This award recognises and rewards young people’s creativity and innovation in creating, or improving, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Your project may include:

• Creating new apps to help improve wellbeing
• Innovations in Engineering and Supply Chain technologies
• Designing smart technologies to protect biodiversity and realise Net Zero
• Building robots to transform your local community
• Ensuring AI systems are inclusive, do not discriminate, and is used in ethical and responsible ways

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly advanced and abundant in our daily lives. Therefore, it is important to consider how we can use these life changing technologies in the best way possible, whilst also supporting people to use them safely and responsibly.

Artificial Intelligence has exploded into daily life, for example Chat GPT reached 1M subscribers quicker than Facebook, Instagram and Netflix. The opportunities for personal, business and community growth as a result of AI could have infinite potential to enhance our society.

Accenture recognises that organisations that build a strong foundation of AI by adopting and scaling it now, where the technology is mature and delivers clear value, will be better positioned to reinvent, compete and achieve new levels of performance for the future.

To enable this, it is essential that the current and future workforces’ AI knowledge and skills are developed. This award highlights Accenture’s mission to deliver on the promise of human ingenuity and technology.

Criteria

Topics:

• Digital Technology
• Robotics and AI
• Sustainability
• Environment
• Space exploration
• Future of cities

Ages: all ages

Size: individual and team projects

Helpful links

Skills to Succeed Academy

Generative AI Technology in Business | Accenture

This award has been brought together in collaboration with UCL Engineering and the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub). We are also delighted to announce Emma Wiggs MBE, British Para-canoeist, will be joining this award as a guest judge, as we look to celebrate projects creating a more inclusive, accessible and fairer world for everyone.

What you'll win: a trophy and £500, and a day visit to the Global Disability Innovation Hub, and opportunity to write a blog post.

This award celebrates projects creating a more inclusive, accessible and fairer world for everyone, irrespective of age, gender, ability, ethnicity or other factors. We want competitors to use their creativity, imagination, problem-finding and solving skills to help reduce inequalities through inclusive design, making society more universally accessible. This might include:

• Creating or improving buildings, products and environments to be accessible to all people
• Ensuring new technologies, including artificial intelligence systems, are inclusive for all users
• Improving access to education and information for all
• Empowering communities to lead innovation and have their voices heard

We want young people to use their voices, ideas, knowledge, and skills to be co-creators and active participants in shaping their world and bring us into the future. We want to inspire, empower, and enable our future change-makers and leaders, who come from a wide range of backgrounds and have differing life experiences to solve the global challenges facing society and our planet.

Engineers work towards reducing inequalities, such as in education, health, transportation, by developing innovative technologies for a more democratic, inclusive, accessible, sustainable and fairer world. We want to create a more just world for all, a world without barriers to participation, where everyone has the opportunity to live a fulfilled and joyful life.

Global inequality, such as on gender, age, disability, ethnicity, income, religion, affects us all, no matter who we are or where we are from. It challenges our long-term social and economic development and stops us from making our planet fairer and better for all.

At UCL Engineering we are committed to creating a healthier, safer, greener, happier, and fairer society. Through our world-class research, teaching and engagement, we are creating accessible, affordable, innovative solutions to real-world challenges, with a positive impact for our local communities, society and our planet, and directly connected to the achievement of key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UCL Engineering is home to the Global Disability Innovation Hub – accelerating ideas into impact for a more just world - for disabled people and all people.

Criteria:

Theme:

• Accessibility and inclusivity

Age: all ages

Size: individual and team projects

Inclusive Research Video Guidance for Early Career Researchers and Innovators:

• Inclusive Research Video Guidance for Early Career Researchers and Innovators Global Disability Innovation Hub
• Abdi Omar: CEO and Founder of Abdi Enterprises

What you'll win: a trophy and £500. Plus, attend IHEEM Annual Conference 2025 to showcase your project and feature in IHEEM journal and website.

The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management is an international Professional Engineering Institute providing guidance and development opportunities for engineers and estate managers in the healthcare sector, and it's passionate about inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals.

The IHEEM Innovation in Wellbeing & Healthcare Engineering Award celebrates young people’s dedication to improving the physical health and wellbeing of society. This project could be a piece of research and investigative work, an innovative design or new way to use technology.       

Projects that may be considered for this award include (but are not limited to):

• Innovation in diagnostics and medicine / treatments
• Advancement in healthcare services
• Supporting people with their day-to-day wellbeing
• Anything that positively impacts all healthcare visitors across the full range of healthcare environments, including, but not limited to GP surgeries, those within local health programmes, NHS properties such as acute, mental health facilities etc.

Young people will drive future innovations in science, technology, and engineering, tackling global challenges like healthcare and sustainability. Understanding these issues now empowers them to shape a better future through creativity and problem solving

Good health and wellbeing are crucial everywhere! Whether your project is focused on helping a relative or friend manage their daily health needs, or is a national or global vision, we want to know your ideas! 

This award reflects IHEEM’s commitment to innovation in healthcare engineering, and the education and empowerment of our future leaders. It encourages young people to think critically and creatively, giving them the opportunity to consider and solve real world problems. By engaging the healthcare engineers of tomorrow in innovation, teamwork, and how they can make a positive impact on all healthcare users, we want to inspire the next generation to lead, learn, and build a better future in healthcare. 

Criteria

Topic:

• Accessibility and inclusivity
• Healthcare & medication
• Humanitarian
• Environment
• Food
• Wellbeing

Size: Individual and teams

Age: All ages

What you'll win: a trophy and £500

This award recognises the importance of teamwork and collaboration as the ECITB celebrates projects where young people work together to innovate and create solutions.

​​Engineering a better future means different people, with different skills and different backgrounds need to work together like never before to find solutions to the greatest challenges of our lifetimes. 

​Engineering construction is the industry that looks after the things that keep us warm, keep us fed and keep us moving. It designs, builds, and looks after the machines and technology responsible for producing fuel, chemicals, water and food, and power. If we really want to achieve net zero, we need to find better ways to use resources and generate energy.

​​Can you imagine a world where there was no heat to warm our homes, no clean water to drink and no petrol to fill our cars.  ​Sounds scary, doesn’t it?  That’s what could happen if we don’t find new ways to generate power and process our natural resources. 

​​Teamwork and collaboration are at the very core of everything engineers do.  The construction industry sectors are the cornerstone of infrastructure across the globe.  Without the skills, perspectives and ideas of different people working together towards a common goal, we fail before we even get started.​ 

Criteria

Topic:

• Accessibility and inclusivity
• Sustainability
• Infrastructure 
• ​Energy production 
• ​Power generation 
• Alternative energy sources 
• ​Net zero 

Ages: All ages

Size: Teams

What you'll win: A framed certificate, a fully funded place to LIYSF, including the full 15-day residential programme. All meals and accommodation provided. 

The winner chosen will represent the UK at the 66th London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF), 23 July to 6 August 2025.

LIYSF is a two-week residential event held at Imperial College London, with lectures and demonstrations from leading scientists, visits to industrial sites, research centres, scientific institutions and organisations, including world class laboratories and universities.

LIYSF attracts 500 of the world's leading young scientists aged 16 to 21 years old from more than 70 participating countries. There is an active social calendar with events designed to enable those from around the world to learn about different cultures. 

Meet LIYSF:

Criteria

Topic: ​​​All topics are welcome across science, engineering, and technology. During LIYSF students can tailor their programme from a wide range of STEM topics and visits on offer.  

Age: Senior (16 to 18)

Size: Individual

Find out more about LIYSF.

What you'll win: a trophy, £500 and opportunities to undertake one of the EI’s training courses for energy professionals, an article in the in-house magazine New Energy World, and to contribute social media content. ​ 

​​The Energy Institute (EI) is the chartered professional membership body for people who work across the world of energy.  It's purpose is creating a better energy future for it's members and society by accelerating a just global energy transition to net zero​.

​​This award will recognise projects designed to help bring about a lasting reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as a contribution to the UK’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050.  This may be either a new technological idea or an innovative way of encouraging people to change their behaviour or lifestyle.​ 

​​The challenge facing us all is to develop new technologies and change behaviours, in our homes, buildings, transport and in industry, that will help us reach the UK’s target of net zero by 2050. There is a global climate emergency, and the real-world impacts – melting ice sheets, rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns - are more evident by the day. 

Responding to the climate emergency is at the heart of the Energy Institute’s purpose, as the UK transitions towards a net zero future.  

Criteria

Topics: Climate

Ages: all ages

Size: individuals and teams

Need some inspiration? Discover ​​​Generation 2050. 

What you'll win: a trophy and £500

​​The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. Intellectual property is something that you create using your mind - for example, an invention, an artistic work or a symbol. 

​The IPO aims to support and inspire innovators and creators so they, and society, get the most out of their ideas at home and internationally. By promoting a deep understanding of intellectual property, we aim to nurture a generation capable of navigating the IP landscape, ensuring innovators embark on future careers armed with the tools to protect and propel their groundbreaking ideas. ​ 

​​The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Innovation Award recognises young innovators who are shaping a brighter future through their creative ideas and inventions. We're looking for projects that demonstrate: 

• Understanding of Intellectual Property (IP): Show how you've considered protecting your invention using IP rights (e.g., patent, trade mark, design registration, or copyright). 

• Innovation impact: Explain how your invention or improvement addresses a real-world problem and benefits society. 

• Sustainable thinking: Describe how your innovation considers environmental impact in its materials or processes. 

• ​Future focused: Demonstrate how your invention contributes to a better future for individuals or communities. ​

​​At the IPO, we believe it’s important to support those who research, create, collaborate, and invent. We want the UK to be the best place in the world for inventors, creators, and innovators to build on their ideas and find success; the IP system and IP education is fundamental in achieving these ambitions.​ 

Criteria:

Theme: all topics welcome

Age: all ages

Size: individual and team projects

Need some inspiration? Find out more on Cracking Ideas website.

Find out more about Intellectual Property and how to keep your ideas and research safe whilst entering into the Big Bang Competition with our helpful guide.

What you'll win: a trophy and £500

We want Competitors to use their STEM skills to create transport for the future! As the global population grows, so too does the need to travel for education, work, or leisure. We want to ensure we can provide transport links to a growing number of commuters whilst also protecting our environment and supporting our communities. Some key areas you could consider are: 

• How can we power our transport and infrastructure (e.g., train stations) without creating any greenhouse gas emissions?  

• How can we make commuting more accessible so everyone can enjoy their journey?  

• How can we protect local wildlife when creating new transport links?  

• Can you create a new method of transport, or improve what already exists?  

• How can we balance a growing number of commuters and the need to build sustainably?   

​​​Our vision is a railway fit for the future. We want to make a positive and lasting contribution to our neighbours and the communities we serve by ensuring that stations remain a comfortable and safe place, even as the numbers of people passing through them, with the potential impact this may have on our environment.  Our vision is a railway network which is energy efficient, makes best use of natural and sustainable resources and where reduction, reuse or recycling of waste is a priority. We want to be an organisation that provides the best possible service to our passengers.

​​Every day, most people will need to travel, whether it be for education, work, or leisure. You can consider ideas to help improve transport connections within your local community or across the world! ​

We need to work with young people to teach them about what we do in rail, why we do it, and how they can fit in. We hope that this competition will help us to bring the sector to life and help stimulate young people’s creativity and inquisitiveness. We are looking for the next generation of innovators and engineers to join us and help us to deliver a safe, reliable and green service for our passengers.

Meet network rail

Criteria

Topics:

• Accessibility and inclusivity
• AI (including smart technology)
• Digital technology
• Energy
• Environment
• Future cities and societies
• Sustainability
• Transportation

Ages: all ages

Size: individual and team projects

Need some inspiration?

• Educational resources for children - Network Rail​ 
• ​​Putting passengers first - Network Rail​ 

What you'll win: a trophy and £500

This award will be awarded to a project that has demonstrated how science and engineering can advance the quality of life in communities, whether around the corner or across the globe. Communities are fundamental, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

The problem is important to solve to advance the quality of life in communities, whether around the corner or across the globe.

Opportunities to improve quality of life for our communities are all around us, whether around the corner or across the globe.

As designers, engineers and scientists, we use our expertise, innovation and creativity to deliver projects that advance the quality of life for communities across the globe. We care about the communities we serve—because we are part of them. Which is why at Stantec we always Design With Community In Mind.

Criteria

Topics:

• Communities

Ages: all ages

Size: individual and team projects

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. Although our work is essentially physical, what we achieve can have far reaching affects – communities that thrive.
Climate change and social value are critical to that and we particularly welcome ideas that have this as their heartbeat. Using the tools of science, technology and your imagination, think about how you could improve a specific neighbourhood or create positive change on a global level. Simple ideas and everyday materials can change the world (or one little corner of it as a start!).

Stand out by being creative, inspiring and innovative. Good Luck!

What you'll win: £500 and a certificate

Has your teacher or technician gone above and beyond in supporting you throughout your project? 

We are looking to reward teachers and technicians who have supported an individual or team in their practical investigative project work for The Big Bang Competition. This includes any support provided at school or at a STEM club. Their support will have allowed students to include sound practical elements in their experimentation. 

We can only consider applications from students who submitted their projects into The Big Bang Competition by 26 March 2025. 

The winning teachers or technicians will receive a cash prize for their school/STEM club and a framed certificate. 

Previous winners include teachers who went the extra mile, enabling, and encouraging their students to push their projects as far as they can. 

The deadline for nominations is Friday 16 May

Nominate your teacher today!