As the world faces urgent sustainability challenges, young innovators are stepping up to lead change. The SDG Olympiad is a global competition that empowers university students to create solutions for environmental and health challenges aligned with achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than just a competition, the Olympiad serves as a platform for collaboration, learning, and real-world impact.

As global challenges grow increasingly complex, and the window to end extreme poverty by 2030 narrows, the SDG Olympiad serves as a much-needed catalyst for action and innovation. By equipping students with the tools and support needed to develop sustainable solutions, the Olympiad fosters a new generation of changemakers committed to building a more equitable and resilient future.

What Is the SDG Olympiad?
Olympiads are academic competitions that test individual knowledge and traditionally focus on subjects like mathematics or chemistry. The SDG Olympiad takes a different approach, centering on innovation, teamwork, and challenge-based problem-solving inspired by the SDGs. 

It brings together students, universities, and partners to co-create innovative solutions with tangible social and environmental impact. Participants explore the intersections between technology, sustainability, and community engagement while addressing real-world issues, with a focus on creating practical prototypes that can generate meaningful data to track global progress towards the SDGs, using AI and crowdsourcing techniques.

The SDG Olympiad was officially launched in Paris in 2024, and brought together over 700 students, 12 partner universities, and participants from four continents.The 2025 edition will take place in Geneva in October, with support from the University of Geneva and the SDG Solution Space.

To qualify for the SDG Olympiad, students must first take part in an SDG Innovation Event, which are short-term educational programs that can be summer schools, hackathons, innovation labs, or semester projects. Each SDG Innovation Event provides opportunities to showcase innovative ideas, and the most promising solutions get advanced to the SDG Olympiad. 

Group Kaya on a team-to-team review session at the SDG Solution Space. Image: Supplied.

The SDG Summer School 2024 organizing team. Image: Supplied.

SDG Summer School visit to the Confucius Institute. Image: Supplied.

How to Participate in the SDG Olympiad 2025
Want to get involved? Here’s how to contribute to this initiative.

• Students —Students can participate in an SDG event within the network, open to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students.
• Universities — Institutions can organize SDG-related events such as summer schools, hackathons, and innovation labs to support student-led solutions.
• Partners — Businesses, NGOs, and institutions can design challenges and mentor students. 
• Sponsors — Sponsors can support innovation and help youth scale the impact of SDG solutions.

For Universities, Partners, or Sponsors:If you are a potential host university for an SDG Innovation Event, if you’re a mentor with a challenge you’d like to give future changemakers, or if your company or organisation wants to support specific challenges, please fill out this expression of interest form.

Applications are open from February 3 to March 31, 2025, with the finals in Geneva at the University of Geneva’s SDG Solution Space, October 10-13, 2025.

For Students:You can find more details on the application process, including competition rules, on the official SDG Olympiad page.

Building a Global Movement for Change
This year, the SDG Olympiad aims to expand its reach and engage a broader network of young innovators. The competition seeks student-led projects that utilize emerging technologies — such as citizen science and artificial intelligence — to bridge data gaps essential for achieving the SDGs.

The competition is not just about winning — it is about driving real impact. Through collaboration, mentorship, and creative problem-solving, participants have the opportunity to contribute to meaningful change on a global scale.

Students, universities, potential partners, and sponsors are encouraged to get involved now and be part of a growing movement for sustainability and innovation. Access the application form for the SDG Olympiad 2025 to express your interest and join the movement!

Who’s behind this competition? The SDG Olympiad is a student-driven event that builds on the network of 12 universities that launched the first edition in 2024. The coordinating team involves students in Geneva and Nairobi, supported by their universities through a variety of research and innovation initiatives, including in 2025 the EU ALBATROSS project. Full details of participating universities, partners and sponsors are available on here