How can artificial intelligence improve your communities and the broader world?

Full Job Description

Applications Open

February 17, 2026 9:00am EST

Solution Deadline

March 20, 2026 12:00pm EDT

Winners Notified

April 24, 2026

America's Youth AI Festival

July 17, 2026

• July 19, 2026

Challenge Overview

AI For A Better World is a national initiative that invites students in grades 6-12 to explore how artificial intelligence can improve their communities and the broader world. This project challenges students to identify real problems they see or experience and to consider how AI can empower them to propose credible, meaningful solutions. Applications will be submitted through the MIT Solve platform; the application will open for submissions on February 17, 2026. Selected student teams will be invited to present their solutions to a panel of experts at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts in July 2026 as part of the national celebration of youth innovation.

Note: Solutions should be designed by student teams, but must be submitted by an adult representative. As the adult representative for your team, please select ‘Submit as an Individual’ when you start the application!

Dimensions

• Taking action to combat climate change and its impacts (Climate)

• Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)

• Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

• Improving learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on (Learning)

• Other: Addressing an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four dimensions above.

Taking action to combat climate change and its impacts (Climate)

Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)

Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

Improving learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on (Learning)

Other: Addressing an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four dimensions above.

Dimension Examples

Learning includes, but is not limited to, solutions that are:

• Supporting access to high quality educational opportunities, including individuals in rural, remote or displaced communities

• Preparing underserved people to learn skills they need for the workforce

• Enabling teachers and educators to support student and/or adult learning

Supporting access to high quality educational opportunities, including individuals in rural, remote or displaced communities

Preparing underserved people to learn skills they need for the workforce

Enabling teachers and educators to support student and/or adult learning

Climate includes, but is not limited to, solutions that are:

• Reducing carbon emissions from organizations and communities, particularly through clean energy

• Helping communities adapt and build resilience to impacts of climate change such as extreme weather

• Creating goods that are renewable, repairable, reusable, and recyclable

• Promoting access to sustainable and resilient food and water sources for rural and/or urban communities

Reducing carbon emissions from organizations and communities, particularly through clean energy

Helping communities adapt and build resilience to impacts of climate change such as extreme weather

Creating goods that are renewable, repairable, reusable, and recyclable

Promoting access to sustainable and resilient food and water sources for rural and/or urban communities

Health includes, but is not limited to, solutions that are:

• Promoting physical and mental health

• Supporting access to effective and affordable healthcare in urban or rural communities

• Enabling the prevention, detection and management of illness, emerging pandemics and health security threats

• Promoting health equity; reducing and ultimately eliminating disparities in health

Promoting physical and mental health

Supporting access to effective and affordable healthcare in urban or rural communities

Enabling the prevention, detection and management of illness, emerging pandemics and health security threats

Promoting health equity; reducing and ultimately eliminating disparities in health

Economic Prosperity includes, but is not limited to, solutions that are:

• Addressing the gaps in technological and digital literacy necessary to participate in a changing job market

• Creating pathways to upskill, reskill, and retrain workers, as well as connect them to the demands of employers

• Supporting access to platforms that support temporary, informal and freelance workers, helping provide stability, safety nets, and security

• Ensuring the inclusion and value of women, low-income and underserved communities in the creation of new technologies, jobs, or entire industries

• Provide tools and opportunities for equitable access to jobs, credit, and generational wealth creation for marginalized communities

Addressing the gaps in technological and digital literacy necessary to participate in a changing job market

Creating pathways to upskill, reskill, and retrain workers, as well as connect them to the demands of employers

Supporting access to platforms that support temporary, informal and freelance workers, helping provide stability, safety nets, and security

Ensuring the inclusion and value of women, low-income and underserved communities in the creation of new technologies, jobs, or entire industries

Provide tools and opportunities for equitable access to jobs, credit, and generational wealth creation for marginalized communities

Program Timeline

Program Details & Materials Released: November 17, 2025

Submission Portal Opens: February 17, 2026

Submissions Due: March 20, 2026

Winners Notified: by April 24, 2026

America’s Youth AI Festival: July 17-19, 2026

Program Faqs

See also: Educator FAQs in the Educator Guide.

Table Of Contents

This track is designed for students in Grades 6-12 (ages 11 and up). Solutions should be designed by student teams, but the application must be submitted by the team’s adult representative (the educator, mentor, or adult facilitator who is overseeing the submission and ensuring safe, ethical AI use). Teams may include any number of students, but only five students and one adult per team will be given an all-expense paid trip to Boston, Massachusetts in July 2026 if selected. For a team with greater than five members, other team members will be given certificates for being part of the winning teams but will not be able to participate in the final presentation at MIT.

This track is open to students from public, charter, private, parochial, independent, and homeschool and after school settings in the United States.

We suggest having teams of 2-5 students. For each winning team: only five of the student team members and one adult will be given an all-expense paid trip to Boston, Massachusetts that weekend. Other team members will be given certificates for being part of the winning teams but will not be able to participate in the final presentation at MIT.

Note: Travel will be arranged in coordination with Day of AI, and meals will be provided at designated times throughout the weekend.

Artificial intelligence, n. a program made by people that makes computers do things that seem intelligent (or smart) in the same way that humans are intelligent. AI is a broad field that includes related concepts such as Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision, and more.

Your team may use any kind of AI, and you can use it in any part of the solution. Your team’s solution must demonstrate a thoughtful and reasoned approach to how AI can be applied to solving the problem.

Educators: we suggest reviewing the ‘What is Artificial Intelligence?’ curriculum from Day of AI.

Yes! Please review the following resources to help teams consider how they might incorporate AI into solutions:

• Educator Guide

• Human Rights and AI

• Climate Change Lessons

• AI in School: Fairness, Rules & Our Voice

• Day of AI Professional Learning

• Student Guide

• Student Deck

• Student Resources

• Human Rights and AI

• Climate Change Lessons

• AI in School: Fairness, Rules & Our Voice

• Day of AI Professional Learning

• Student Deck

• Student Resources

This track accepts student-led solutions that utilize AI to improve their communities and the broader world. Solutions may focus on any social, environmental, or economic need, including:

• Taking action to combat climate change and its impacts (Climate)

• Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)

• Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

• Improving learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on (Learning)

See more examples under Dimension Examples.

Judges will review each application and score the solution on the following criteria:

• Potential for Impact: The planned solution implementation has the potential to positively impact communities locally and/or globally.

• Feasibility: The team has a realistic, practical plan for how they would implement the solution in the communities where they plan to work.

• AI Approach: The solution demonstrates a thoughtful and reasoned approach to how AI can be applied to solving the problem.

• Human-Centered Design: The solution is designed with and for target communities, and the solution team demonstrates that they have the necessary experience and knowledge of those communities to develop a successful solution.

• Scalability: The solution has the potential to be scaled to affect the lives of people beyond the target communities.

After the submission deadline, applications will go through several rounds of review between March and April 2026, including a screening round by Solve staff, a review round by Solve staff and external reviewers, and a review round by a panel of expert Judges.

Winning teams will be notified by April 24, 2026, and invited to attend America’s Youth AI Festival on July 17-19, 2026 on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The team’s adult representative (educator, mentor, or adult facilitator who is overseeing the submission and ensuring safe, ethical AI use) must submit the application on behalf of the student team. The adult representative may consult Solve’s How To Apply page for information about submitting the application.

All applications must be submitted via the Solve platform by the deadline (Friday, March 20, 2026 at 12:00pm ET).

Five student teams will be selected as winners and invited to America’s Youth AI Festival on MIT’s campus on July 17-19, 2026. These winning teams will present their solutions during the AI for a Better World session to an audience of fellow students and attendees. The teams will receive feedback from select Judges during the event.

For each winning team: only five of the student team members and one adult will be given an all-expense paid trip to Boston, Massachusetts that weekend. Other team members will be given certificates for being part of the winning team but will not be able to participate in the final presentation at MIT. Note: Travel will be arranged in coordination with Day of AI, and meals will be provided at designated times throughout the weekend.

Judging Criteria

• Potential for Impact: The planned solution implementation has the potential to positively impact communities locally and/or globally.

• Feasibility: The team has a realistic, practical plan for how they would implement the solution in the communities where they plan to work.

• AI Approach: The solution demonstrates a thoughtful and reasoned approach to how AI can be applied to solving the problem.

• Human-Centered Design: The solution is designed with and for target communities, and the solution team demonstrates that they have the necessary experience and knowledge of those communities to develop a successful solution.

• Scalability: The solution has the potential to be scaled to affect the lives of people beyond the target communities.