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Highlights
- The TCS Innovator of the Year competition celebrates student innovations emerging from the global goIT program. Each year, students pursuing STEM education, aged 6-17, design and prototype technology solutions that address real challenges in their communities and around the world. Finalist teams present their ideas to a global panel of judges, demonstrating creativity, technical thinking, and real-world impact. Through the competition, students gain future-ready skills and global recognition for innovations that are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
- The 2025-2026 goIT Global Innovator of the Year competition saw 30,000+ students under 18 years, representing 52 countries, innovate around themes related to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).
- goIT, a TCS Empowers flagship program, promotes digital innovation, inspires global citizenship, and equips students around the world with the skills, confidence, and mindset to pursue STEM careers of the future.
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Students are building the future, one innovation at a time
Technology is evolving at an extraordinary pace, shaping how people learn, work, and connect with the world. Yet for many young people, technology is part of their everyday lives, often without fully understanding how it works or how it can influence the future. The goIT program helps students in STEM education see technology in a different light, aligned with the UN SDGs.
Through hands-on experiences and innovation challenges, students begin to explore how technology can be created, applied, and used to solve problems that matter to them. Instead of only consuming technology, they begin to understand how they can shape it and be equipped with future-ready skills.
The global goIT Innovator competition
The goIT Innovator of the Year competition celebrates the most compelling student innovations emerging from the global goIT ecosystem.
Students from around the world submit prototype solutions that demonstrate how technology can address challenges they care about. These ideas may originate from classroom learning experiences, digital learning pathways, or innovation challenges within goIT programs. Students are also invited to join the goIT ecosystem by submitting directly to the Innovator of the Year competition through the TCS Empowers goIT page.
Finalists are selected through a global judging process that evaluates creativity, impact, and the strength of the proposed prototype solution. This year’s finalists represent a global generation of future-ready problem solvers who are thinking boldly, creating with purpose, and proving that innovation can start at any age.
From ideas to impact: Inside the goIT Global Innovator of the Year competition
The projects presented through the competition illustrate the wide range of ways students imagine technology being used.
In teams or independently, students prototype concepts that may take the form of mobile apps, digital platforms, AI tools, or other technology-enabled services. These prototypes demonstrate how an idea could function, and the role technology plays in addressing the problem.
By sharing their work with judges and global audiences, students gain experience presenting complex ideas and explaining the thinking behind their solutions.
Technology with purpose: How students turn skills into solutions
Across regions, students in STEM education explored how technology can improve lives and strengthen communities. Their innovations address challenges such as sustainability, digital inclusion, access to education, environmental impact, and community well-being.
These projects reflect more than technical skill. They begin to show how students are thinking about the broader implications of technology, digital innovations, and their role as global citizens. By combining cutting-edge technology with real-world context, students are building solutions that show what future-ready skills look like in action.
Meet the Global Innovators of the Year
Each year, a global panel of judges selects the student teams whose innovations stand out for their creativity, impact, and potential.
The winners of the Global Innovators of the Year for 2025-2026
Global winner: Melbeth, Fitzken, Crisha Jean, John Dave, Jaymie, Renkhail, Chole, Joelle, Evekiel – Philippines, APAC
Prototype: Sangdugo
UN SDG: Good Health and Well-Being
Sangdugo: Making blood donation work when it matters most
When someone needs blood, there isn’t time to figure things out. Families are often left calling hospitals, posting online, and hoping the right donor sees it in time. It’s stressful, uncertain, and far from reliable. In the Philippines, this happens more often than it should. Blood supply can drop during holidays and the rainy season, when the need doesn’t slow down. Even when donors are willing to help, the process of finding the right match and knowing a request is legitimate isn’t always clear.
A team of students looked at this problem up close and decided to do something about it. They built Sangdugo, a mobile app that connects donors, patients, hospitals, and blood banks in one place. Instead of relying on scattered messages and word of mouth, the app provides a more direct, trusted way to match donors with real needs.
The team focused on making the process more reliable. Requests can be verified, donors can be matched more accurately, and scheduling is easier to manage. Features such as doctor referral codes and digital donor IDs are designed to reduce confusion and build trust across the system. Sangdugo doesn’t try to reinvent healthcare. It fixes a gap that people deal with every day, making it easier to find help when it’s needed most.
Second place: Summer, Ginny, Sofia, Hazel – Australia, APAC
Prototype: WorkWise
UN SDG: Decent Work and Economic Growth
WorkWise: Helping young people take their first step into the workforce
Securing a first job can be challenging, with many young people unsure where to begin or how to navigate pay, skills and expectations.
In Australia, it’s something more people are paying attention to. Youth unemployment is still higher than the national average, and there’s a growing push to help young people move more easily from school to work. WorkWise is a student-built app designed to help bridge that gap. It gives young people a way to explore different career paths, access short courses, track skill development, and verify fair pay standards.
Third place: Robie, Mahlodi, Riranda, Nqobile – South Africa, MEA
Prototype: Sewage Solutions
UN SDG: Clean Water and Sanitation
Sewage Solutions: Easier to report what’s broken
When sewage problems come up in a neighbourhood, they’re hard to ignore. Getting them fixed is another story. Reporting can be inconsistent, and people don’t always know if anything is being done.
In South Africa, this is a growing concern. Many communities are dealing with ongoing sanitation challenges, and there’s increasing pressure on municipalities to respond more quickly and consistently.
The main motivation for this innovation was to address environmental, public health and safety within their immediate community.
The notion of broken pipelines, groundwater pollution, and our municipality’s inability to respond to problems required attention. By treating sewage issues, grey water and pipelines in their community, the community can:
- Prevent disease outbreaks
- Reduce water consumption
- Improve access to water
Sewage Solutions is a student-built app designed to help close that gap. It allows residents to report issues, track progress, and receive updates when problems are fixed.
Beyond the win: What comes next for these innovators
Recognition as a goIT Innovator of the Year opens new opportunities for students to continue growing their skills and sharing their ideas in the sphere of digital innovations. Winners can receive mentorship, global recognition, and opportunities to amplify their digital innovation through storytelling, speaking engagements, and continued engagement with the goIT ecosystem.
For more information, visit: North America | APAC | Europe | India | LATAM | MEA | UK&I
2025-2026 goIT Global Innovator of the Year student participants