“The Paradigm Challenge is a simple way to win money for college!”
The Paradigm Challenge Grand Prize Winners
“We invite students aged 4 to 18 around the world to use kindness, creativity, and collaboration to help solve real-life problems.”
Founder & CEO, Project Paradigm
THE PARADIGM CHALLENGE PROJECTS
HOME FIRES
Fire is Everyone's Fight. Home fires occur every 90 seconds and take more lives than earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined.
WASTE REDUCTION
The Earth is everyone's responsibility. Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.
PERSONAL HEALTH
Wellness and healing are good for everyone. Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
FOOD SECURITY
Everyone's part of the food system. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is essential to everyone. It is the variety of life on Earth, including plants, animals, micro-organisms, and the ecosystems they inhabit. Biodiversity is currently being lost at unprecedented rates due to human activities that degrade or encroach on habitats, increase pollution, and contribute to climate change.
WHAT'S NEXT
The topic for the next Challenge Project will be announced after the current Challenge deadline.
THE PARADIGM CHALLENGE PRIZE CEREMONY
Win a trip to Los angeles
Imagine winning a 4-day/3-night trip to Los Angeles with your parent to enjoy the beach, experience Disneyland, and star in a video shown around the world. Then dress like a star and your limo will take you to a red carpet event to collect your prize.
Win the paradigm challenge prize
All it takes is one idea. Use your creativity to win up to $100,000 and change the world. The students who submit the top idea in each age division (4-8, 9-13, and 14-18) will attend the Ceremony and compete for The Paradigm Challenge Prize!
KEDAR’S DREAM
Eight-year-old Kedar cartwheels onto the stage and shares his pollinator dream during his heart-warming acceptance speech.
EMMA & SCOTT’S STORY
Teens Emma and Scott share how The Paradigm Challenge inspired their collaborative journey to reduce injuries from home fires.
HOW TO WIN THE PARADIGM CHALLENGE
noun: a group of ideas about how to approach a problem
noun: an invitation to engage in a competition
ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
The deadline to submit an entry for the current Paradigm Challenge is May 1, 2023.
The Paradigm Challenge is an ongoing competition that invites students aged 4 to 18 around the world to use kindness, creativity, and collaboration to help solve real-life problems and make a difference.
Students aged 4 to 18 (as of the date the entry is submitted) around the world are invited to enter The Paradigm Challenge individually or as teams of any size. See the Challenge Rules for more information about who can join The Paradigm Challenge.
We welcome all types of ideas, including posters, videos, inventions, public messages, community events, websites, mobile apps, or anything else that will help address one or more of the Paradigm Challenge Projects.
Project Paradigm will select no less than 100 entries as Paradigm Challenge Finalists. Finalists will be selected throughout the current Challenge as entries are submitted. A blue-ribbon panel of judges will evaluate Finalist entries based on effectiveness, feasibility, originality, presentation, and collaboration to determine the First, Second, Third, and Grand Prize winners.
Up to four team members associated with the top entry in each age division (ages 4 to 8, ages 9 to 13, and ages 14 to 18) (and a parent or guardian for each team member) will receive a 4-day/3-night trip to Los Angeles to attend The Paradigm Challenge Prize Ceremony.
Participants in The Paradigm Challenge are not asked to provide any identifying information (such as last name, day of birth, or address), unless their parents/guardians have provided written consent for the submission of such information. Emails to participants under age 13 will be sent to the parent/guardian email address provided during registration.
to change the world.
“Students come alive when presented with an opportunity to do something that matters. The Paradigm Challenge provides that spark and the Challenge website provides ample scaffolding to support you and your students.”
Teacher and recipient of Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, ISTE Technology in Action award, Henry Ford Teacher Innovator award, and PBS Digital Innovator award
Inspire Students & You Can Win a Grant!
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
Student Prizes | Educator Grants | |
Grand Prize | $100,000 | $5,000 |
| 1st Place 2 Teams | $10,000 | $1,000 |
| 2nd Place 3 Teams | $2,000 | $500 |
| 3rd Place 3 Teams | $1,000 | $250 |
| Finalists 91 Teams | $200 | $50 |
“I am proud to be amongst all of the Paradigm Challenge Finalists, it’s a dream come true.”
The Paradigm Challenge Grand Prize Winner
MEET THE PARADIGM CHALLENGE WINNERS
FIRE MITT
Emma and Scott created the Fire Mitt to help save lives and reduce home fires and won the first Paradigm Challenge.
NOHBO
Benjamin developed NOHBO shampoo balls to reduce plastic waste and won the second Paradigm Challenge.
TETHYS
Gitanjali invented a lead contamination water safety device and won the third Paradigm Challenge.
ReDawn
Sofia created an app to guide survivors of assault and won the fourth Paradigm Challenge.
“My experience as a Paradigm Challenge Ambassador helped me become the first freshman in school history to be elected as High School Student Body President.”
Paradigm Challenge Ambassador
become an ambassador for change
Attend the prize ceremony in Los angeles
Imagine winning a 4-day/3-night trip to Los Angeles with your parent/guardian to enjoy the beach, experience Disneyland, and star in a video shown around the world. Then dress like a star and your limo will take you to a red carpet event.
how it works
Become an Ambassador For Change to inspire students to make a difference in the world. Sign up today, receive your Ambassador materials, help spread the word about The Challenge, and you could win a trip to participate in our Prize Ceremony.
How To Earn Ambassador Points
Speak to a classroom: 10 points each
Speak to an entire grade level: 20 points each
Speak at a school-wide assembly: 50 points each
Speak to a civic, community, or church group: 5 points each
Tweet official Challenge Youtube videos: 3 points each
Post official Challenge YouTube videos on Facebook: 3 points each
Join The Paradigm Challenge Facebook page: 3 points
Post Challenge logo on Instagram: 3 points
Encourage students to join The Challenge. Particiants can include how they heard about The Challenge on the Entry Form.
Refer students to register for The Challenge: 2 points each confirmed registration.
Refer students to become Challenge Ambassadors: 2 points each confirmed Ambassador.
School newspaper or newsletter: 5 points each
Community newspaper: 10 points each
Community television or radio station: 10 points each station
Think of other creative ways to spread the word about The Challenge and earn bonus Ambassador points.
“It’s amazing to see what my kids are able to do together, collaborating to come up with new ideas. I’m so thrilled Project Paradigm created The Paradigm Challenge for our youth!”
Mom of Division 1 Winners
STEM SKILLS
Following our inaugural Paradigm Challenge in 2016, the White House recognized our commitment to early STEM learning and our commitment to young makers. The Paradigm Challenge continues to spark and cultivate youth interest in using science, technology, engineering, and math skills to solve real-world problems.
Innovating for good
Youth have an innate sense of innovating for good. The Paradigm Challenge provides an opportunity to use that kindness and creativity to help address real world problems and increases each student’s awareness of his or her ability and responsibility to make a difference.
THE PARADIGM CHALLENGE EXPERIENCE
After choosing an avatar, the next step is to build or join a team. While there is no minimum or maximum team size, the key is collaboration.
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” -Helen Keller
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” -Henry Ford
“Great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people.” -Steve Jobs
Students can use the build a team tool to follow in the footsteps of Keller, Ford, and Jobs.
Students will watch a two-minute video to learn the six steps to solve any challenge.
Study the problem
Observe what others are doing to help
List all imaginable ideas
Visualize each idea and how it might solve the problem
Engage others for further input on the best ideas
Decide which idea is the best
The “SOLVED” method is appropriate for students of all ages and will provide students with a valuable tool to address other challenges in their lives.
The next step is to study one or more of the Challenge Projects. Students can visit the CHALLENGE PROJECTS page to learn about the problems presented.
After students study one or more Challenge Projects, the next step is to learn about current efforts. The CHALLENGE PROJECTS page provides examples of videos, posters, websites, inventions, public messages, and community events and educational programs for each Challenge Project.
After students observe what other people are doing to help, the next step is to brainstorm new or improved solutions.
The LIST ALL IMAGINABLE IDEAS page includes a virtual whiteboard to track each team's ideas. If a team member thinks of an idea on her own, she can add it and it will show up on her teammates' white boards.
Students of all ages can also learn how to brainstorm effectively by watching a short video of four Stanford Design Institute students thinking of different ways to store chewed gum.
After creating a long list of ideas, the next step is to think about how to identify which ideas are best.
The VISUALIZE EACH IDEA page provides tips on how to analyze whether each idea is effective, feasible, and original. To help students get started, the page also includes links to tools to search for patents, videos, images, trademarks, apps, and more.
We will add more tips and resources throughout The Challenge. Students are encouraged to contact us when they discover other resources and we may add them.
After narrowing the list of creative ideas, the next step is to collaborate with other people to identify possible improvements. Parents and educators are a great starting point.
The ENGAGE WITH OTHERS page helps students identify other knowledgeable persons who may be able to help.
Students are encouraged to contact us when they discover other experts in their communities.
After engaging others for further input, the next step is to confer with teammates and choose the best idea (or ideas).
The DECIDE AND PRESENT page also provides suggestions on how to create a winning presentation.
Students are encouraged to contact us if they come across other strategies and we may add them.
After deciding which idea (or ideas) to submit and creating a presentation, the next step is to fill out an entry form. Students can save their work as they go and come back to work on the draft entry or submit the final entry at any time prior to the entry deadline. Students are encouraged to submit as many entries as they wish.
Obtain feedback from a Project Paradigm Mentor and refine your idea.
about Us
We created The Paradigm Challenge in 2015 because we believe that our youth have a natural ability to innovate for good. We are thrilled to share with you that students from 179 different countries stepped forward to accept our first four Challenges to use kindness, creativity, and collaboration to make a difference in the world. We are both humbled and excited by how quickly The Challenge has become a global youth movement. The students’ ideas already are making a difference and we are proud to support the implementation of the most promising ideas.
We could not have achieved this level of success without the passionate contributions from our partners in our first four project areas (fire, waste, health, and food security) and, of course, from teachers and other educators who have enthusiastically embraced The Paradigm Challenge projects as high quality, authentic project based learning opportunities.
As we enter our fifth Challenge, we are excited to announce two important updates:
First, we have made a significant change in the structure of The Paradigm Challenge to encourage, facilitate, and reward student iteration. Like other student competitions, our previous Challenges invited students to submit an entry by the deadline and then announced the winners soon thereafter. But we are going to try an approach that, to our knowledge, no major student competition has ever done before: We are going to encourage students to submit their ideas as far as possible in advance of the entry deadline and we will provide real-time feedback and resources to facilitate iteration. Students can submit their improved ideas on their own timetable (rather than hard and fast interim deadlines) and continue to receive real-time feedback, all the way up to the final entry deadline. We believe this new model will further deepen the students’ learning, and, as a result, we have expanded the entry window to ensure that students have a full opportunity to experience the iterative process.
Second, the fifth Paradigm Challenge brings back the first four projects (fires, waste, health, and food security) and adds a new project: biodiversity. The United Nations Environment Programme explains that, “biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, including plants, animals and microorganisms, as well as the ecosystems of which they are part. Biodiversity is currently being lost at unprecedented rates due to human activities that degrade or encroach on habitats, increase pollution, and contribute to climate change.”
We invite students aged 4 to 18 to help us create solutions for one of more of these five projects. If you are between the ages of 4 and 18 (as of the date of your entry), please accept this Challenge, form a team, submit your best ideas, and practice the critical skill of iteration based on the real-time feedback that Project Paradigm and its partner experts will provide. Like in the past, the top 100 student entries will win cash prizes of up to $100,000!
If you are over 18, please help us spread the word about The Paradigm Challenge to youth, parents, teachers, and others. We offer more than $50,000 in cash grants to teachers and others who inspire students to participate in The Paradigm Challenge.
Thank you for your interest in The Paradigm Challenge.
Best,
Jeff Richardson
Founder & CEO
We endeavor to identify, support, and collaborate with passionate individuals and organizations to inspire, lead, and facilitate paradigm shifts in the approaches to global challenges.
Jeff Richardson is the Founder and CEO of Project Paradigm and The Paradigm Challenge. Jeff is passionate about inspiring youth to use kindness, creativity, and collaboration to address real-world problems and enhancing each person’s awareness of his or her ability and responsibility to affect positive change in the world. Jeff originally is from Oregon and now resides in California.
Alex Sanchez is the Innovation Officer for Project Paradigm. Alex is passionate about using technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Alex originally is from California and now resides in Ohio.
Montana Marks is the Kindness Officer for Project Paradigm. Montana is passionate about spreading kindness among students, parents, and teachers (and animals). Montana originally is from Pennsylvania and now resides in California.
Manda Lucius is the Artistic Genius for Project Paradigm. Manda is passionate about creative expression. Manda originally is from Mississippi and now resides in California.
Claudia Estevez is the Operations Virtuoso for Project Paradigm. Claudia is passionate about inspiring kindness toward each other, animals, and the environment. Claudia originally is from Maryland and now resides in California.
Innovation is commonly defined as a new idea, device, or method. But what does this really mean and how is innovation different from creativity and invention?
Thomas Edison, one of the greatest innovators of all time, provides a starting point: “Innovation is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” From there, Edison probably would agree that the 1% inspiration is pure creativity and that, if the creativity and innovation lead to the making of something new, that is an invention. In other words, all inventions represent innovation but not all innovations are inventions.
As you will see from our website, Project Paradigm is committed to innovation (including the creativity that sparks innovation and the inventions that sometimes follow innovation). Our project (or mission) is to change paradigms. We strive for internal innovation, we provide grants to innovative organizations, and we empower and inspire youth to generate innovative solutions to important problems as part of The Paradigm Challenge.
If you believe in the power of creativity, innovation, and inventions, reach out to us so we can collaborate.
Project Paradigm believes that children are born with an innate sense of kindness - a natural willingness to help. Some people theorize that children are socialized over time to think more about themselves than others. Regardless of the explanation, we would like to do our part to help children maintain and develop their natural born kindness.
We designed The Paradigm Challenge to inspire youth to use STEM skills plus kindness, creativity, and collaboration to help make a difference in the world. Specifically, we believe participants in The Challenge will gain a greater awareness of their ability and responsibility to help others.
Indeed, we encourage everyone (youth and adults) to practice acts of kindness. Feel free to start with random or non-random acts. Join the kindness movement and make a difference. The world will be a better place and an increasing amount of research shows that your acts of kindness will increase your own happiness as well.
If you are passionate about kindness, please reach out to us so we can collaborate.
Project Paradigm is committed to creating a learner-centered experience for participants in The Paradigm Challenge. Mentors, including Project Paradigm leadership and subject matter experts, are available to provide positive and constructive feedback to Challenge participants that submit entries. Students are encouraged to reflect on and refine their ideas for The Paradigm Challenge based on mentor feedback.