Samsung Solve For Tomorrow Returns For 2025 In Search Of Student Innovators Across Aotearoa
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is returning for its fifth year, in partnership with the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) and Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ). This year's competition highlights the critical role of teachers in developing design thinking skills, with teachers of winning entries receiving $1,000 from the prize pool.
Julie Baker, Head of Education at MOTAT and Solve for Tomorrow judge, says recognising the contribution teachers make to student innovation was a key driver behind the change to prize allocation. 'We know just how influential teachers are in inspiring and guiding our tamariki, and this updated prize allocation is our way of giving back and recognising their incredible effort. Solve for Tomorrow is all about fostering creativity and real-world problem solving, and we're thrilled to now acknowledge the teachers who support students every step of the way.'
Solve for Tomorrow 2025 offers a prize pool of $24,000 in cash and Samsung technology for winning students, their teachers, and schools.
To enter, students must harness the power of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths) and design thinking to develop innovative solutions aimed at creating a brighter future for Aotearoa.
Samsung is delighted to welcome back its VIP judging panel for 2025, featuring Dr Joel Rindelaub and Dr Siouxsie Wiles, alongside Sarah Washbrooke, Deputy Chair of TENZ, and Julie Baker.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles is thrilled to return as a judge for the 2025 competition.
'Judging Solve for Tomorrow is genuinely one of the highlights of my year. I absolutely love seeing the creative, thoughtful ideas our tamariki come up with – it gives me so much hope for the future. Every entry is a reminder of how bright, curious, and capable our young people are, and I can't wait to see what this year's cohort brings to the table,' says Wiles.
Gabriel Anthony and Logan Gardiner wowed the judges in the 2024 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition with their inventive, community-focused solutions.
Gabriel, a Year 8 student from Whitby Collegiate in Wellington, took out the Year 7 to 10 category with Pill Bot, an AI powered medication identifier designed to help visually impaired people, inspired by his grandmother's own experience.
In the Year 11 to 13 category, Logan, a student at Burnside High School in Christchurch, impressed with Enviro Saver, a self-powered device engineered to clean rubbish and debris from local waterways.
Simon Smith, Head of Brand Marketing at Samsung Electronics New Zealand, is looking forward to seeing what Kiwi students are working on for this year's competition.
'Last year's entries were truly outstanding. The creativity, passion and problem-solving shown by our young people was inspiring, and Samsung is incredibly proud to both host and champion a competition that celebrates Kiwi ingenuity. We have no doubt this year's students will continue to raise the bar.'
Entries are now open for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025. All students in years 7 to 13 are invited to participate, either individually or in teams.
Students who submit a project plan by 23 June 2025 can benefit from valuable feedback from our VIP judges to help refine their final entries and go in the draw to win a Samsung TV.
Final submissions are due by 19 September 2025.
Alternatively, if students have already developed an innovative solution as part of an existing school project, they are welcome to repurpose it and enter it now.
The winning individual or team for Solve for Tomorrow 2025 will be announced prior to the awards ceremony on 30 October 2025.
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