Part design competition, part global learning lab—Wege Prize challenges transdisciplinary teams of university students to develop real-world solutions to complex, “wicked” problems through the framework of the circular economy.
Build Your Team
Develop a Circular Solution
Propose a product or service that solves a wicked problem while making circular design its differentiator.
Evolve your solution through an iterative design process driven by in-depth feedback loops with Wege Prize judges.
The Four Phases
Compete for $65K in Prizes
Team Participation Requirements
To be eligible to participate in Wege Prize, teams must:
No more, no less.
Based on current program of study. Previously completed degree programs are not considered.
Includes schools within a larger university, i.e. Example University’s School of Engineering and School of Earth Sciences would be considered different.
Individual Team Member Participation Requirements
To be eligible to join a Wege Prize team, you must:
Teams can be composed of a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students if they so choose.
If you are graduating before May of 2027, you must be enrolled as a student through at least December 6, 2026.
The circular economy transforms our throwaway linear system into one where materials never become waste and our activities replenish the natural world.
It gives us the tools to redesign every element—from how we manage resources, to how we make and use products, to what we do with the materials afterwards—creating an economy that thrives on resilience instead of consumption.
Wege Prize challenges teams to use circular design to develop products and services that create unique value, solve real-world problems, and benefit people, businesses, and the environment.
The Circular Economy / 3 Core Principles
Eliminate waste and pollution
by redefining them as flaws to be designed out of the things we make rather than inevitable by-products.
Circulate products and materials
through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, and composting.
Regenerate nature
through practices that rebuild soils, increase biodiversity, preserve water systems, and return biological materials to the earth.
Portions of the language on this page have been adapted with permission from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Learn more at ellenmacarthurfoundation.org.
Return to IndexWege Prize judges guide and evaluate your solution through the following lenses, providing in-depth feedback to help you improve in each area as the competition progresses.
How does your solution intentionally and successfully incorporate the core principles of the circular economy?
How does your solution—and in particular its circular design—provide unique value and create new opportunity?
To what extent have you prototyped your solution and demonstrated its marketability, profitability, and technical/financial feasibility?
How does your solution reflect a systemic understanding of the problem while remaining rooted in a clear, sensible entry point?
To what extent has your user/stakeholder research uncovered proven need and sufficient motivation for people to use your solution?
How effectively have you leveraged your team’s diverse makeup and engaged outside perspectives to strengthen your solution?
To what extent have you presented your solution in a clear, concise, well-organized, compelling, and visually engaging manner?
Your first challenge is to investigate, incubate, and communicate. Introduce your team, provide context around the problem you will address together, and present a starting framework for your solution.
Keep your writing concise and focused on the big picture, and don’t be afraid of being bold with your intentions—we expect you to evolve your thinking and refine your approach as the competition progresses.
Application Questions
What wicked problem is your team addressing, and who are the stakeholders affected by it?
What social, technological, and ecological forces shape the problem?
Which entry point in the system will you focus on, and why is it the right place to intervene?
What product or service are you proposing—and how can circular design be its differentiator?
What solutions exist already, and how can your approach go further?
How can your solution help address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? Choose 1-3 to focus on.
How will engagement with stakeholders, mentors, and subject matter experts shape your design process?
What’s your plan, and what could get in the way?
For teams cleared to advance to Phase 2, your next challenge is to consider the judges’ feedback as you work to develop your starting framework into a more detailed circular solution.
You’ll communicate your progress through a concisely written and compellingly designed Project Overview document.
Project Overview 1st Draft Content
What’s the wicked problem you’re addressing, what are the forces shaping it, and who are the stakeholders affected by it?
Is your entry point in the system still the right place to intervene? Why or why not?
What are you building, how does it work, and how are you making circular design its differentiator? Include a diagram illustrating the circularity of your concept.
How does your approach go further than what existing solutions are already doing?
Who needs your solution, and why will they use it?
What have you prototyped, tested, or learned thus far, and who have you engaged with to shape your design process?
How can this be financially viable, now and long-term?
How does your solution support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals you identified in Phase 1?
What’s in your way, and how can you overcome it?
For semifinalist teams, your Phase 3 challenge is to revise your 1st Draft using the judges’ feedback, then go deeper—into your business model, how materials flow through your solution, and how your approach has evolved from Phase 2.
Submit by: January 25, 2027
Receive feedback by: January 31, 2027
Phase 3 Deliverables
1. Project Overview 2nd Draft — Revise Your 1st Draft
Consider the judges’ feedback as you revise all aspects of your Project Overview 1st Draft to reflect how your solution has developed.
2. Project Overview 2nd Draft — Go Deeper: Financials and Flows
Use the extra two pages allotted in the design guidelines to provide additional details on:
What do concrete cost structure and revenue stream projections look like and where do strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities lie?
How does your solution keep biological and/or technical materials circulating at their highest utility and value?
3. Project Update Video — Reflect on Your Learning
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.
Content should focus specifically on the aspects of your Project Overview document that have been revised and/or refined.
For finalist teams, your Phase 4 challenge is to update the judges on your progress, finalize your Project Overview document using their feedback, and translate your solution into a slideshow presentation.
Submit by: April 12, 2027
Receive feedback by: April 18, 2027
Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Phase 4 Deliverables
1. Final Project Overview — Revise Your 2nd Draft
Consider the judges’ feedback as you revise all aspects of your Project Overview 2nd Draft to reflect how your solution has developed.
2. Project Update Video — Reflect on Your Learning
Select one member of your team to record a short video* (3-5 minutes) where they explain how your project has evolved from Phase 3 to Phase 4.
Content should focus specifically on the aspects of your Project Overview document that have been revised and/or refined.
3. 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 2027 Wege Prize Awards.
Presenters will translate their team’s Final Project Overview into a slideshow presentation—supported by physical prototypes if desired. Teams have 10 minutes to present, followed by a 10-minute Q+A session with the judges.
Wege Prize teams will contend for $65,000 (USD)* in total cash prizes, awarded by our panel of judges.
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 2027 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.
*Amount before applicable taxes. Tax situations vary by location, individual, and business tax status.
Rutopia · 2018
Rutopia built an online platform to facilitate the transition to a fair, regenerative and circular ecotourism system for indigenous communities.
Today, they are a certified B-Corp travel company in Mexico that curates personalized, nature-regenerating trips by connecting visitors with local and indigenous community ecotourism projects.
Banofi Leather · 2023
Banofi Leather created an alternative leather material from banana crop waste using a circular production process that reduces carbon emissions by over 95% and water usage by over 90%.
Today, they are a thriving materials company collaborating with some of the biggest players in fashion to disrupt the industry by working towards a 100% bio-based material to supplant animal leather for good.
AgPress · 2025
AgPress integrated mealworm and maize farming to fight malnutrition with a circular production process that yields protein-rich flour for 20-30% less cost than other sources while cycling agricultural byproducts back into the soil.
Today, they’ve launched the final prototype of their closed-loop system after winning Wege Prize 2025 and being shortlisted for the Moonshot Idea Award in early 2026.
Wege Prize 2027 FAQs
Got questions about eligibility, deadlines, or how judging works? Our FAQ page covers the details so you and your team can spend less time wondering and more time building.
The Circular Economy
New to circular design, or want a refresher for your team? Come explore what a circular economy actually looks like in practice—a great foundation for teams and advisors alike.
Wicked Problem-Solving
Wicked problems don’t have neat, tidy solutions—and that’s the point. These resources are all about how to navigate complexity and keep moving forward, a skill every Wege Prize team will lean on throughout the competition.
Design Thinking
Iterative processes and human-centered approaches are at the heart of circular design. Explore methods that can help you see your work from a different angle.
Biomimicry
Nature has been solving hard problems for billions of years. Learn how looking to natural systems can spark unexpected, elegant solutions for your team’s design.
Business Model Development
Circular design needs a solid business plan behind it. This resource helps teams pressure-test their business model before the judges do.
Materials and Technologies
Curious which materials and emerging technologies could power your solution? Get inspired with ideas worth exploring as you build out your concept.