Let’s collaborate to make the circular economy a reality

The facts are clear. We desperately need to transform our throwaway linear economic system into one that is regenerative and restorative by design. Realizing a circular economy is a powerful way to address climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss while also meeting critical social needs.

Wege Prize is an annual competition that ignites game-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college/university students around the world to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries to redesign the way economies work. 

Participants contend for $65,000 (USD) in total cash prizes with innovative solutions that are powered by human-centered design, underpinned by a shift to renewable energy, and built on the three core principles of the circular economy. 

The circular economy: three core principles

Team Requirements

To be eligible to participate in Wege Prize, teams must:

• Have exactly five (5) members (no more, no less)

• Represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines (in terms of each participant’s current program of study–previously completed degree programs are not considered)

• Represent at least two (2) different institutions of higher education* (colleges, universities, or separate colleges/schools within a larger university) 

  *For instance, a team member from Example University’s School of Engineering and a team member from Example University’s School of Earth Sciences would be considered as representing two different institutions
  
  

Individual Requirements

To be eligible to join a Wege Prize team, individuals must:

• Be currently enrolled in a undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate degree program program at a college, university, or equivalent institution of higher education anywhere in the world. (Teams can be composed of a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students if they so choose.)

• Be enrolled as a full-time (or equivalent) student for the duration of the competition. (If you are graduating before May of 2026, you must be enrolled as a student through at least December 15, 2025.

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Over the course of nine months, Wege Prize teams will compete to advance through up to four distinct phases of competition, growing their ideas from a preliminary proposal into a robust and feasible solution informed by research, market analysis, and real-world prototyping and testing. 

Each step of the way, they will be guided by direct feedback from a panel of expert judges who will help them strengthen their ideas, push the limits of possibility, and support bringing their plans into fruition.

Broadly speaking, the challenge of Wege Prize is to:

1. Build a strong and diverse team
   Teams with the greatest disciplinary and institutional diversity will likely have a higher probability of success.
   

1. Identify a “wicked” problem to address
   A “wicked” problem is highly complex problem that involves multiple stakeholder groups and is especially resistant to resolution. Efforts to solve one aspect of the problem often reveal or create other obstacles that must be addressed as well.
   

2. Develop a compelling circular solution
   Whether they take the form of a product, service, business, or something else, solutions should be driven by the three core principles of the circular economy.

Wege Prize is looking for solutions that are:

• Circular – capable of functioning within a circular economy and helping power a shift towards renewables

• Innovative – providing unique value and exploring untapped potential

• Viable – with potential for marketability, profitability, and financial sustainability

• Scaleable – effectively contributing to expanding the global circular economy

• Systemic – accounting for the way in which parts of a system both influence each other and work as a whole

• Responsive – if behavioral change is needed for your solution to work, how will you help drive it?

• Human-Centered – demonstrating research-driven consideration of users and any affected stakeholders in all aspects of the solution
  

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Phase 1 - Team Application

Your first challenge is to investigate, incubate, and communicate. Introduce your team, identify the problem you will work to address together, and present a preliminary framework for addressing the problem that will ultimately grow into your full solution. 

Keep your writing concise and focused on the big picture, and don’t be afraid of being bold with your intentions—we expect your solution to adjust and grow over the course of the competition!

In addition to introducing your team, your application will answer the following:

• Explain the wicked problem your team is interested in addressing.

• Help us understand the systemic nature of the problem. What social, technological, ecological, and other key factors impact the problem?

• How could addressing this wicked problem support the development of a circular economy?

• Who are the key stakeholders in this wicked problem and how would you engage and/or co-create with them?

• How do you plan to involve mentors and/or subject matter experts in your design process?

• How could addressing this wicked problem support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals? (Choose 1-3 specific goals to focus on)

• What are your next steps?

Phase 2 - Project Overview 1st Draft

For teams cleared to advance to Phase 2, your next challenge is to consider the judges’ feedback as you work to develop your preliminary framework into a concrete circular solution, where stakeholders are engaged throughout the design process.

You’ll communicate your solution through an informative and visually compelling Project Overview document that contains the following elements:

• Solution Summary – Provide a clear and concise (1-2 sentence) breakdown of your solution.

• Problem Context – Help the judges understand the conditions —economic, geographic, social, technological, etc.— surrounding the wicked problem you’re proposing to solve.

• Solution Detail – Describe in detail how your solution will work, explain how it aligns with the principles of the circular economy, and begin to illustrate the feasibility of your business model.

• Impact Assesment – Explain how your solution differs from existing solutions. Describe who it benefits and what potential social, economic, environmental, and other impacts it may have.

• Prototyping – Detail any tangible steps you have taken to begin prototyping and testing your solution.

• Barrier Acknowledgement – Identify challenges preventing your solution from succeeding and your plan to address them.

Phase 3 - Project Overview 2nd Draft

NOTE: Your Project Overview 2nd Draft must follow the same organization and design guidelines as the 1st Draft.

For teams cleared to advance to Phase 3, your next challenge has two components:

1. You must first consider the judges’ feedback as you revise your Project Overview 1st Draft to reflect how your solution has developed. 
   

2. You must then expand your work with:

   • A detailed material analysis (added to the Project Overview)

   • A detailed economic analysis (added to the Project Overview)

   • A short video (3-5 minutes) explaining how your project has evolved

Project Overview 2nd Draft Elements

• Solution Summary – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Problem Context – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Solution Detail – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Impact Assessment – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Prototyping – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Barrier Acknowledgement – Revised and/or refined from Phase 2

• Detailed Material Analysis  *NEW*
  Detail the resources and/or materials—technological, biological, capital, or otherwise—incorporated into your solution. Provide justification for their use and illustrate their alignment with the circular economy.

• Detailed Economic Analysis  *NEW*
  Detail the business model that will ensure your solution’s economic viability. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business model as well as risks you may face and how you plan to address them. 

• Project Update Video  *NEW*
  Select one member of your team to record a short video (3-5 minutes) where they explain how your project has evolved from Phase 2 to Phase 3. The content of the video should focus specifically on the aspects of your Project Overview document that have been revised and/or refined. No fancy production or additional visuals needed—just you talking into the camera/your phone. 

Phase 4 - Final Project Overview and Final Presentation Materials

For finalist teams, your Phase 4 challenge has three components:

1. Consider the judges’ feedback as you revise and refine all aspects of your Project Overview into a final version.

2. Record and submit another Project Update Video explaining how your project has evolved.

3. Translate your Final Project Overview into a slideshow presentation to be delivered at the 2026 Wege Prize Awards on May 15, 2026. 

Final Project Overview
Consider the judges’ feedback as you revise and refine all aspects of your Project Overview into a final version.

NOTE: Your Final Project Overview must follow the same organization and design guidelines as the 2nd Draft.

Final Presentation Materials
Finalist teams will select one team member to present and defend the final version of your solution in front of the core judges and a global audience at the 2026 Wege Prize Awards event on May 15, 2026*.

Presenters will be asked to translate their team’s Final Project Overview into a slideshow presentation that can be supported by physical prototypes if they choose. Each team’s presenter will be allotted ten minutes to present, followed by a ten-minute Q+A session with the judges.

*NOTE: Wege Prize will provide each finalist team with up to $3,000 USD in travel expense reimbursement.

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Teams will be judged on the following criteria throughout Wege Prize:

Depth of Research

• To what depth have you identified, studied and analyzed the problem?

• Have you researched existing solutions?

• Have you consulted stakeholders and experts to refine your solution?

• Have you considered how your solution fits into or transforms existing systems?

Collaboration

• Have you built a strong and balanced transdisciplinary team?

• Beyond dividing up different tasks, have you worked across disciplinary boundaries and brought your different perspectives together?

• Have you effectively engaged stakeholders, mentors and/or subject matter experts in your design process?

Innovation and Implementation

• Does the solution help accelerate a circular economy?

• Is your solution technologically, economically, and financially feasible?

• Is your solution intentionally sensitive to the social and/or cultural context in which it operates?

• Is there a proven need and sufficient motivation for people to use your solution?

• Have you effectively considered what system conditions need to exist to make your solution possible?

• Have you prototyped your solution?

Presentation

• Is your presentation organized and visually appealing?

• Does it deliver a clear message with a compelling and concise narrative?

• Can you provide immediate and thoughtful answers to the judges’ questions?

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August 8, 2025
Team application period opens

October 5, 2025
Phase 1 deadline - Team Application

October 26, 2025
Phase 1 feedback due from judges (on accepted applications only)

December 15, 2025
Phase 2 deadline - Project Overview 1st Draft

January 11, 2026
Phase 2 feedback due from judges
*Semifinalists selected

February 22, 2026
Phase 3 deadline: Semifinalists - Project Overview 2nd Draft

March 15, 2026
Phase 3 feedback due from judges
*Finalists selected

May 10, 2026
Phase 4 deadline - Final Project Overview and Final Presentation Materials

May 15, 2026
Final Presentation and Awards Event

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Wege Prize teams will contend for $65,000 (USD)* in total cash prizes, awarded by our panel of judges.

Prize Amounts

1st Place
$30,000 (USD)*

2nd Place
$20,000 (USD)*

3rd Place
$10,000 (USD)*

Finalist Award (x2)
$2,500 (USD)*

*Amount before applicable taxes. Tax situations vary by location, individual, and business tax status.

If you apply as a non-business entity:

Your cash prize will be split equally between all five members of your team.

If you apply as a business entity:

Your cash prize will be paid as a lump sum to the business entity. 

You cannot enter Wege Prize 2026 as a business entity unless your business entity has a valid U.S. tax identification number (or Employer Identification Number: EIN). Tax liability varies by business type. Additional documentation will be required in order to make an award payment to the business.

If all team members are not part of the business entity but still want their portion of the award to go to said business entity, you may still choose this option. However, all team members must provide written consent before any payment can be made to the business.

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Wege Prize 2026 FAQs

Get your answers to frequently asked questions about the 2026 competition

Wege Prize Project Overview Guidelines

See detailed content and design guidelines for the Project Overview, the main deliverable in Phases 2-4 of the competition.

The Circular Economy

A circular economy is one that is restorative by design, and which aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times. 

Wicked Problem-Solving

Efforts to grapple with one aspect of a wicked problem often reveal or create other obstacles that must be considered and overcome. 

Design Thinking

Design thinking is a human-centered approach for the development of ideas, business models, strategies, products, services, and brands.

Biomimicry

Biomimicry is the idea that complex human problems can be solved by imitating the systems, models, and design elements of the natural world. 

Business Model Development

As you develop your business model, you’ll need to be able to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as any risks you may face and how you plan to address them.

Materials and Technologies

Learn about innovative ways you can incorporate emerging materials and technologies into your work

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