The nationwide competition invites Grades 8 to 10 science high school students to develop STEM-based solutions for community, social, and environmental challenges.
Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition is back for its fourth year in the Philippines, inviting young Filipino students to use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to address real problems in their communities.
Supported by the Department of Education, the 2026 edition is open to Grades 8 to 10 students from government-managed science high schools across the country. Teams will develop proposals around community challenges, social change, or environmental sustainability, with almost PHP2 million worth of prizes awaiting the top teams, schools, and teacher-advisers.
Three themes for this year’s competition
Students can develop their entries around one of three themes.
Under Environmental Sustainability through Technology, teams are encouraged to find STEM-based ways to reuse, recycle, or transform materials into useful products. Social Change through Tech and Sport focuses on using technology and sports to support areas such as education, entrepreneurship, and social inclusion.
The third theme, Solving Community Problems with AI, invites students to explore practical ways artificial intelligence can address local challenges while still emphasizing critical thinking, social responsibility, and meaningful impact.
How to join
Each team can have up to four students and one teacher-adviser.
Teams may submit a proposal in Word format of up to 3,000 words or seven pages, or as a PowerPoint presentation with a maximum of six slides. All entries must ultimately be submitted as PDF files no larger than 40MB.
Entries will be judged based on design innovation, community relevance, feasibility, STEM integration, sustainability, and clarity of proposal.
The submission deadline is November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow page.
Mentoring for the top 10 teams
The top 10 shortlisted entries will be announced on November 16, 2026.
Each shortlisted team will receive mentoring from a Samsung coach to help refine its proposal before presenting to a panel of judges on December 7, 2026. The top three teams will then be announced on December 15, 2026.
That mentoring stage gives students a chance to strengthen not just the technical side of their ideas, but also how clearly and realistically those ideas can be implemented.
Almost PHP2 million in prizes
The Grand Prize package is valued at PHP730,000, including PHP400,000 worth of Samsung devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the student team and teacher, PHP100,000 in cash for the students, and PHP30,000 in cash for the teacher.
The Second Prize, valued at PHP595,000, includes PHP300,000 worth of devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the team and teacher, PHP70,000 in cash for the students, and PHP25,000 for the teacher. The Third Prize, valued at PHP465,000, includes PHP200,000 worth of devices for the school, PHP200,000 worth of devices for the team and teacher, PHP50,000 in cash for the students, and PHP15,000 for the teacher.
The remaining seven teams in the top 10 will each receive PHP15,000 for the team and PHP5,000 for the teacher.
Building on previous student innovations
Since its Philippine launch in 2023, Solve for Tomorrow has supported student teams developing technology-based solutions for local challenges.
Last year’s winning entry from Cavite Science Integrated School developed a solar-powered, water-quality sensing buoy for monitoring mangrove ecosystem health. Other previous ideas included an egg-segregation solution and a low-cost pest-control system intended to help farmers reduce dependence on chemicals.
With AI now included as one of the competition themes, the 2026 edition extends the program into an area that is increasingly relevant to how students learn, create, and solve problems.
More information and entry mechanics are available through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow website.