About the competition
The world is changing. Luckily, it can be changed for the better. The Spring Idea Competition offers young people an opportunity to impact matters close to them. The competition aims to strengthen the young people’s agency and confidence in the future.
The Spring Idea Competition is a competition for young people aged 15–19. The competition is open to teams of 3–5 people with their own idea. The idea can be big or small and can solve a problem or seize an opportunity. You can participate as part of your studies or in your free time all over Finland. The prize for winning Spring is a summer job and an inspirational study visit to a European capital, during which you develop your idea into something concrete.
The Spring idea competition of 2024 has ended. Further information about the idea competition for the upcoming school year will be published after the summer.
Stages of the idea competition
Participate in Spring by filling out the idea form during the application period.
Your idea can be found from the environment around you and from global opportunities or challenges. Find food for thought through the inspirational library.
The 12 most promising teams, chosen by the Spring jury, advance to the next stage in the competition. These teams are invited to an idea-weekend in Helsinki, during which the young innovators get to advance their ideas.
At the end of the idea-weekend, the Spring jury chooses six teams for the Spring-final. In the final, organized in spring, the teams get to present their ideas to an audience of young people from all over Finland. The Spring-winners are decided by public vote among 15-19-year-old students and votes from the Spring jury. Three teams will be crowned winners of the idea competition.
The winning teams will be awarded with a summer job, during which they have the opportunity to develop their ideas into something concrete. The summer job includes a study trip abroad as well.
Competition Stages
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- The competition’s application period is open from 1.11.2023 to 29.2.2024. The idea can come from your local environment, global opportunities or challenges. Check out the Inspiration Library.
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- Spring’s expert jury will select the 12 most promising ideas to go forward. The shortlisted teams will be invited to Helsinki for a weekend-long idea incubator from 12 to 14 April 2024, during which the idea will be further developed. At the end of the incubator, a jury of experts will select six ideas for the final.
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- At the final on 7 May 2024, the teams will present their ideas to the public. The winners of Spring will be chosen by a combination of a public vote by young people and an expert jury. The young people will vote for the ideas that are most relevant to them to win. Three winners will be selected.
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- The winning three teams will be rewarded with a summer job to turn their ideas into reality. The summer job also includes a study trip to Copenhagen.
SPRING SPARRING PARTNERS 2024
Top experts from a wide range of disciplines develop ideas together with young people. Discover the 2024 team of sparring partners below.
BACKGROUND AND PARTNERS
Spring was founded by Matti Alahuhta, Sari Baldauf, Antti Herlin, Martti Hetemäki, Bengt Holmström, and Jorma Ollila. They are responsible for Spring’s costs and form its steering group. Spring is implemented by the Children and Youth Foundation. The partners of the competition are the Finnish National Agency for Education, The Union of Upper Secondary School Students, National Union of Vocational Students in Finland, the Finnish Student Alliance – OSKU ry and Finlands Svenska Skolungdomsförbund FSS.
A nationwide network of student-driven entrepreneurship societies is also involved in inspiring and supporting the young people taking part in the competition, including Boost Turku, Seinäjoki Entrepreneurship Society, LUT Entrepreneurship Society, Tiimiakatemia Jyväskylä, Helsinki Think Company, Oulu Entrepreneurship Society, Pori Entrepreneurship Society, Tampere Entrepreneurship Society, Vaasa Entrepreneurship Society, Metropolia Turbiini Campus Incubator and Aalto Entrepreneurship Society.
Spring Idea Competition is designed together with young people. During autumn 2022, more than 150 young people participated in the design of Spring and all its elements. Teachers have also contributed to the content of Spring. Their input has been used to produce inspiring materials for schools, making it easy to integrate Spring into the curriculum.