INNO Student Challenge
Do you have an innovative idea to protect nature? WWF can help you realize this idea! Participate in the INNO student challenge and get the chance to win €10.000,- and professional coaching sessions.
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Our forests are on fire and our icecaps are melting. Our waters are full of plastic, animal species are going extinct at alarming rates and ecosystems are collapsing. We live in a time of ecological and climate crisis. The world needs new innovative solutions to conserve nature. The world needs you!
What is it?
The INNO Student Challenge is a part of the INNO-fund. The INNO-fund supports innovative conservation projects from Dutch foundations and enterprises. In our rapidly changing world, we need these projects more than ever. WWF organizes this challenge to help passionate students and recent graduates (max. two years after graduation) to realize their innovative ideas that protect nature.
Do you have an achievable idea that revolves around sustainability and protecting nature? Then you may be the change that the world needs! Scroll down to find out if you can participate.
What can you win?
- The three best ideas win € 10.000,- each to realize their idea.
- The three best ideas receive professional coaching sessions.
Highlights 2023
Aftermovie 2022
Can you participate?
- You are registered at a Dutch University, HBO or MBO. Recent graduates can also participate, within two years after graduation.
- You study and live in the Netherlands.
- You are at least 18 years old and not older than 30.
- You do not have an organization yet, however, you do want to start one.
- The total budget of your project is not higher than €100.000.
- Your project stimulates nature conservation in an innovative way.
See here which conditions you need to fulfill:
How will you be judged?
The jury will judge projects based on:
- The innovativity of the idea
- How the idea protects nature and promotes sustainability
- How the candidate intends on using the grant
- The chance of success: do you have the knowhow and most importantly the passion to make this project a success?
- Your staying power
The process explained
- First you need to submit your application. You need to do this before the deadline of 10 January 2025 (the deadline has been postponed).
- A WWF innovation-team judges the applicants based on the criteria mentioned above and chooses 10 finalists.
- On the 17th of January 2024, the 10 finalists will be announced. Are you one of these geniuses? Then you need to hand in a projectplan before the end of February 2025. In this round, the jury will look at feasibility and financial justification.
- In March 2025 the 10 finalists need to pitch their idea to the jury.
- In April 2025 the 10 finalists are invited to the award ceremony where the three winners will be announced.
Questions? Visit our FAQ page or contact us! We are more than happy to answer all your questions.
The best ideas of 2023
This year for the third time, WWF invited students from Dutch educational institutions to submit their innovative ideas for nature conservation. Almost forty teams accepted this challenge. Seven finalists were selected and three winning teams received funding of €10.000 and professional coaching to help realize their conservation dream.
The winners were: 'Het Kiemcollectief', 'HydroAs' and 'Michipatü'.
The best ideas of 2020/2021
40 students submitted their inventive ideas to protect our nature. A jury selected three winners. They received €10.000 and professional coaching, which will hopefully help them to realise their project in the future. The winners are 'Green Healthcare', 'Picking up good Vibrations' en 'Reshore'.
Need inspiration?
Since 2003, the INNO-fund support Dutch foundations that take an innovative approach to nature conservation. To provide you with some inspiration, multiple testimonials of organizations that were supported by the INNO-fund are listed here.
Contact
Questions? Visit our FAQ page, read the terms and conditions or send an email to innochallenge@wwf.nl! We are more than happy to answer all your questions.