Competition • Switzerland

The Geneva Challenge: Advancing Development Goals Contest

The Geneva Challenge, formally known as the Advancing Development Goals Contest, is an annual international competition run by the Geneva Graduate Institute for teams of Master's students worldwide. Launched in 2014 with the support of Ambassador Jenö Staehelin and once championed by the late Kofi Annan as its High Patron, the contest invites interdisciplinary teams of three to five graduate students to design theoretically grounded, practically implementable solutions to a major global development challenge. The 2026 edition focuses on the future of work, inviting proposals that address how automation, demographic change, and climate transition are reshaping labour markets worldwide, particularly the impact on inequality, youth employment, and the green transition. Teams must combine at least two disciplinary perspectives and can be drawn from a single university or across multiple institutions globally. Submissions are judged first by an interdisciplinary academic steering committee, then by an independent jury of academic, governmental, and private-sector experts. Five finalist teams, one representing each continent category, are invited to Geneva for an oral presentation and public Q&A, with all related travel, visa, and accommodation costs covered. Prizes total CHF 25,000: CHF 10,000 for first place, CHF 5,000 each for two second-place teams, and CHF 2,500 each for two third-place teams. Team registration for the 2026 cycle closes 1 May 2026, with the full proposal submission deadline falling on 11 July 2026 at 23:59 CET, giving registered teams roughly eleven weeks to develop their analysis.