Junior Innovators Challenge 2026

The competition invites young learners from KG 1 to Grade 4 in Academic Year 2026–2027 to showcase their creativity, imagination capacity, critical thinking, teamwork, communication skills, problem-solving ability, and innovation potential as part of the National Science, Technology and Innovation (NSTI) Festival.

Challenge Statement
The Junior Innovators Challenge invites young learners to think creatively, solve real-world problems, and demonstrate their ideas with confidence. The challenges are designed to be age-appropriate, encouraging each student to explore and innovate at their own level.
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About the Challenge Activities

Each competition stage features activities aligned to six core domains: Science, Technology, Mathematics, Engineering, Crafts & Making, and Puzzles & Logic.

Students are not expected to produce finished products. What matters most is curiosity, creative thinking, imaginative capacity, problem solving, teamwork, and the ability to communicate ideas clearly.

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Category A — KG 1 to KG 2

Day 1 at the NSTI Festival

  • Individual activity focused on creativity and communication
  • Simple teamwork and problem-solving group task
  • Observation or puzzle-based activity assessing reasoning and focus

Core skills observed: Creativity, communication, simple problem-solving, confidence, and cooperation.

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Category B — Grades 1 to 2

Day 2 at the NSTI Festival

  • Age-appropriate individual innovation or logic task
  • Collaborative group challenge — practical and hands-on
  • Presentation moment: student explains their thinking or solution to judges

Core skills observed: Creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication.

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Category C — Grades 3 to 4

Day 3 at the NSTI Festival

  • Individual innovation or problem-solving task — independent thinking and creativity
  • Group engineering or making task — teamwork, planning, and practical skills
  • Communication and reflection task — student explains process, decisions, or final solution

Core skills observed: Creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, communication, and task completion.

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Target Audience & Categories
Category Grade Level Challenge Level Competition Day
Category A KG 1 – KG 2 Early childhood challenge level Day 1
Category B Grades 1 – 2 Lower primary challenge level Day 2
Category C Grades 3 – 4 Upper primary challenge level Day 3

Nominations are managed by school coordinators. Each school may nominate up to five (5) students per category and up to fifteen (15) students in total.

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