If you are a graduate student looking to solve some of the world’s most pressing socioeconomic issues, the Geneva Graduate Institute invites you to participate in the 13th edition of the Geneva Challenge.

Supported by Ambassador Jeno Staehelin, the Advancing Development Goals Contest encourages interdisciplinary problem-solving among master’s and PhD students worldwide. This year, the challenge calls upon young minds to tackle “The Challenges to the Future of Work” and propose actionable, innovative strategies to ensure global employment transitions are productive, inclusive, and sustainable.

About the Contest and Geneva Challenge

The Geneva Challenge takes place yearly for graduate students to participate in the international contest. Students are providing the most innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing issues with a defined theme of the year.

The Geneva Institute established the Advancing Development Goals International Contest for Master’s Students to inspire reflection and innovation on the development of different disciplines with the support of Ambassador Jeno Steahelin.

Important Details

Organizer: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (GIIDS)

Awarding Ceremony Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Number of Prizes: Five (5)

Eligible Country: All, based on the UN Statistics List

Gender: Male/Female

Funding Type: Fully-funded

• Host Institution: Geneva Graduate Institute
• Contest Name: The Geneva Challenge 2026 (13th Edition)
• Theme: The Challenges to the Future of Work
• Target Audience: Graduate students (Master’s and PhD)
• Location: Global (Online submission, finals typically in Geneva)
• Registration deadline:  24 April 2026 at 23:59 CET.
• Submission deadline: 11 July 2026 at 23:59 CET.

The 2026 Theme: The Future of Work

The world of work is undergoing a profound transformation. Your team’s proposal must address the challenges associated with this shift and offer pragmatic, actionable solutions. Key dimensions to explore include:

• Artificial Intelligence and Automation: Addressing the displacement of jobs, the need for human-centric AI, and the unequal distribution of productivity gains.
• Demographic Shifts: Solving the imbalance between shrinking, aging workforces in high-income economies and the massive youth populations entering the labor market in developing nations.
• Climate Change and the Green Transition: Managing labor displacement in climate-vulnerable regions and creating equitable opportunities in the emerging green economy.
• Gig Economy and Informality: Developing social protection frameworks and regulatory solutions for platform-mediated work and the massive global informal sector.
• Inequality and Social Justice: Closing the gender gap in unpaid care work, addressing digital inequality, and ensuring vulnerable groups are not left behind.

The Advancing Development Goals International Contest Prize and Benefits

Five prizes, one per continent, are available for five finalists as follows:

• The winning project will receive CHF 10,000;
• The second-place winner will be two teams and will receive CHF 5000 each;
• The third-place winner will be two teams and will receive CHF 2500 each;
• Publication and promotion of shortlisted submissions on the Geneva Challenge website, providing visibility to the teams and their work;
• All members of the five finalist teams will receive an invitation for an oral presentation in Geneva, where they will defend their proposals and answer questions from the Jury and the public;
• A chance to participate in the Award Ceremony in Geneva;
• Traveling costs to Geneva;
• Visa expenses for the trip;
• Accommodation expenses of the winning teams

Other Exclusive Benefits:

• Global Networking: Direct engagement with academic experts, policymakers, and representatives from UN agencies and Geneva-based international organizations.
• Publication Opportunities: The winning proposals and standout projects may be published by the Geneva Graduate Institute, giving your research international academic visibility.
• Certificate of Participation: All registered teams that successfully submit a complete proposal receive an official certificate from the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Eligibilities for the Advancing Development Goals International Contest

All contestants and their submissions should meet the following criteria:

• The applicant must have graduated with a bachelor’s degree and enrolled in a master’s degree at the time of registration.
• Each team should contain 3 to 5 graduate students from at least two different disciplinary academic backgrounds.
• Individual participants will not be accepted.
• The category of competition to choose from is optional.
• All team members should submit a document confirming their graduate status before registration of the team.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Evaluation Criteria

The Academic Steering Committee (ASC) and a committee of professors will evaluate all submissions against the following criteria:

• The relevance of the research questions
• Analytical rigor of the solutions
• Practicality of solutions
• The originality of the project
• Outreach of solutions

Selection Process

Two panels will evaluate and check the submissions for Advancing Development Goals International Contest in three phases as follows:

• First Phase: The Academic Steering Committee (ASC) and a committee of professors who will check the compatibility of the submissions with the material criteria of the contest;
• Second Phase or Semi-finalist: In this phase, the ASC will select three (3) submissions per continent. If the submissions match the contest’s design and criteria, the ASC will forward them to an independent high-level Jury Panel. The panel comprises policymakers, experienced professionals, academics, and young talents who will select the competition’s finalists.
• Third Phase or Finalist: In the last phase of evaluations, the organizer will invite one finalist per continent to the Graduate Institute in Geneva. In this phase, the finalists will publicly present their entries in front of the Jury Panel. Furthermore, they will answer questions about their entries. On this occasion, the Jury Panel will categorize the five teams into one first position, two-second positions, and two third position holders. Finally, the winners will receive prizes in an award ceremony led by a high-level keynote speech.

How to Apply for the Advancing Development Goals International Contest?

• The application process is conducted digitally and occurs in phases.

1. Form a Team: Assemble a diverse group of graduate students from different academic disciplines.
2. Register Your Team: Complete the online registration form on the Geneva Graduate Institute website before the registration deadline.
3. Develop Your Proposal: Analyze a specific problem related to the future of work and draft an actionable, well-researched strategy.
4. Submit: Upload your final project proposal before the official submission deadline

• The abstract must not exceed one page in length. Furthermore, it must contain short biographies of each team member, a short explanation of the problem addressed by the project, and the solution for the problem. Additionally, applicants should specify how the proposed solution will make a difference.
• The project must be in English or French and should not exceed 8000 words excluding all notes, graphics, and references.
• Contestants’ submissions should combine creativity, theoretical analyses, capacity building, critical thinking on technical assistance, and the development agency.

Note: All entries should be original and without any plagiarism. Entries will go through a check for plagiarism before being submitted to the Jury members as semi-finalists of the 2023 Geneva Challenge.

Register HERE

3.1. Submissions must be sent by email to geneva.challenge@graduateinstitute.ch before 23:59
CET, on 11 July 2026.
3.2. Submissions must include an abstract and the description of the project, all submitted in one
joint PDF document.

For detailed information about the Advancing Development Goals International Contest, please visit the official website of the Graduate Institute

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