Each year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge invites students from around the world to create short videos that explain and simplify complex scientific ideas. More than 2,400 teenagers entered this year’s competition. After several months and judging stages, 15 finalists have emerged. Soon, the Challenge will reveal the winner for Yuri Milner’s 2023.
Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Foundation has organised the annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge since 2015. The Breakthrough Foundation also funds the Breakthrough Initiatives and the Breakthrough Prize.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, how the competition selects a winner, and the prizes the winner will receive.
What Is the Breakthrough Junior Challenge?
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global competition for people everywhere aged 13 to 18. To enter, applicants must submit a video no longer than two minutes that illuminates a concept, theory, or principle from maths, physics, or the life sciences.
Who Created the Breakthrough Junior Challenge?
Julia and Yuri Milner created the Breakthrough Junior Challenge in 2015. The couple founded the competition as part of their Giving Pledge to support science and the circulation of scientific ideas.
An entrepreneur in the internet technology investment space, Yuri Milner has a net worth of $6.8 billion. He is the author of Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation. He is also a prolific philanthropist and donates much of his wealth to non-profit initiatives.
Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Foundation supports projects like the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, Tech For Refugees, the Breakthrough Initiatives, and the Breakthrough Prize.
Since 2012, the Breakthrough Prize has awarded a total of $308 million to the world’s leading researchers in science and maths. A gala award ceremony in Los Angeles will celebrate the latest Breakthrough Prize laureates on 13 April 2024.
On top of this, Yuri Milner has committed more than $2 million to the Breakthrough Initiatives. Breakthrough Listen uses cutting-edge telescopes to detect radio signals that could originate from alien civilisations. The other four Breakthrough Initiatives include an academic conference and an engineering programme focused on interstellar travel.
How Does the Breakthrough Junior Challenge Select a Winner?
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge follows a four-stage judging process to select a winner:
- Peer-to-Peer Review. To qualify for the competition, applicants must review and score at least five videos that other contestants have submitted.
- Evaluation Panel Review. The Evaluation Panel reviews the 75 top-scoring videos from the Peer-to-Peer Review stage, giving each of these videos at least an extra five reviews. The Evaluation Panel consists of science leaders and top scholars.
- Popular Vote. Members of the public get the chance to vote for their favourite videos. The top-scoring video in this stage bypasses the next phase of judging and goes straight to the final round.
- Selection Committee Review. A Selection Committee reviews and scores the Evaluation Panel’s top group of finalists, choosing up to five entries for final consideration. The Popular Vote top scorer joins this group for the final review and selection of the winner.
What Does the Breakthrough Junior Challenge Winner Receive?
The winner of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge receives three incredible prizes:
- A $250,000 post-secondary scholarship.
- A new science lab for their school valued at $100,000.
- A cash prize of $50,000 for a teacher who inspired them.
To date, nine young people have won the Challenge and received these life-changing prizes. Past winners have hailed from countries around the world, including Singapore, Peru, and India.
It won’t be long until this year’s 15 finalists discover which of them is the 2023 Breakthrough Junior Challenge winner.
