The science and technology competition Beyond 2030 Challenge challenges all secondary school students in Finland to come up with creative solutions to questions that burn the mind (or touch humanity), and even save the whole world. The competition is jointly organized by the city of Turku and the pharmaceutical company Bayer.

The nationwide Beyond 2030 Challenge science and technology competition invites all young people to put their creativity to the test, get excited about sustainable development and win great prizes. You don't have to be an experienced competitor in the competition, but the best result is achieved when the young person is curious, interested and willing to throw himself in. Throughout the competition, the young people are supported by university student mentors from technical fields.

When choosing a topic for the competition work, only imagination sets the limits. In previous years, the teams have, for example, developed cancer treatment, turned yards into carbon sinks and improved the quality of the Baltic Sea with mussels. What the ideas have in common is that they creatively mix different disciplines, with the common goal of helping the earth and humanity.

Last year, the competition was won by Erika Pajusen's land use assessment method, which allows municipalities, real estate companies and households to make their yard areas carbon sinks - and thus save the world. The competition was of great benefit to her.

- During the competition, I decided to apply for environmental studies, because natural sciences have always interested me. Winning the competition brought a reward for long-term work, and after the progress of my studies, I would like to use the innovation I developed in the competition to use yard areas as carbon sinks, says Pajunen

The competition encourages young people to get involved in science

The Beyond 2030 Challenge competition is made possible by a unique cooperation between public administration and private companies. The innovation ecosystem that connects different actors and the strengthening of know-how help Finland stay on the crest of the wave of science and technology in global competition. One of the main goals of the competition is to encourage more and more young people to work in technology and natural sciences.

Minister of Education Li Andersson brings the ministry's support to the science and technology competition.

- Saving the world is not possible without skills, that's why I encourage every young person to try different things to find their own thing. Only by learning new things and doing things together is it possible for us to respond to the future, says Minister of Education Li Andersson.

The patrons of the competition are Turku City Mayor Minna Arve and Bayer Nordic CEO Christiane Temminghoff. The competition's jury consists of experts in education, science and technology. The jury is headed by Mika Hannula, director of Teknologiakampus Turku and vice chancellor of the University of Turku.

Technology Campus Turku is heavily involved in the cooperation. The competition is also supported by Turku Energia, PerkinElmer, Turku Seudun OP, Genelec, Wärtsilä, Metso Outotec and CADMATIC.

The best ideas are awarded in the live final

In the Beyond 2030 Challenge competition, young people form their own teams. You can compete in teams of one or more people, and the competition can be included as part of the young person's high school or professional studies.

The wonderful prizes of the competition are awarded per team: €5,000 for the winner, €2,500 for silver and €1,250 for bronze. Last year, the jury also awarded the cancer cutter idea that won silver with a day of getting to know Turku Center for Biotechnology's cancer research.

Registration for the Beyond 2030 Challenge is open from 4 October to 18 November 2022. The winner of the competition will be decided in a thrilling live final on April 21, and the five final teams will be selected in the semi-finals in February. The competition is being organized now for the third time.

Registration and video

Register the team for the competition by 18th of November 2022 at 23.59.

Video also on YouTube.