About the competition

The world is changing. Fortunately, 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.

Spring is an idea competition for young people aged 15–19. Spring 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 abroad, during which you develop your idea into something concrete.

The next application period will be open from August 12, 2026 to December 31, 2026.

Tyttö heittää maapalloa ilmaan, vieressä teksti "Think future"

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.

The 12 most promising teams, chosen by the Spring team, advance to the next stage in the competition. These teams are invited to an idea weekend in Helsinki 2.-4.4.2027, during which the young innovators get to advance their ideas. At the end of the idea weekend, the Spring jury chooses six teams who advance to the next round of the competition. The jury’s decision-making is supported by Spring’s evaluation criteria: 1) identification of the problem, 2) relevance of the idea, 3) innovativeness of the idea, 4) scalability of the idea, and 5) team composition and motivation.

The Spring-winners are decided by public vote among young people all over Finland. Three teams will be crowned winners of the idea competition in the spring 2027.

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 also includes a study trip to Amsterdam.

The Rules of the Competition

    1. The competition’s application period is open from 12.8.2026 to 31.12.2026. The idea can come from your local environment, global opportunities or challenges. Check out the Inspiration Library and the Rules of the Competition.
    2. Spring’s team will select the 12 most promising ideas to progress in the competition. The shortlisted teams will be invited in Helsinki,  for Idea Weekend on 2.–4.4.2027, during which the idea will be further developed. At the end of the incubator, a jury of experts will select six ideas for the next stage of the competition.

    3. The week after the Idea Weekend, each of the six finalist teams is filmed in their hometown, where they present their idea. These introduction videos become part of the Spring Final Broadcast.

      The broadcast is available to watch across Finland from April 15 to April 28. During this period, young people from all over Finland can vote for their favorite ideas. The three teams receiving the most votes are crowned the winners of Spring.

    4. The three winning teams will be rewarded with a summer job where they get to turn their ideas into reality. The summer job also includes a study trip to Amsterdam.

SPRING SPARRING PARTNERS

Top experts from a wide range of disciplines develop ideas together with young people. Discover the 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. 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, 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.  

The Spring-jury of 2026 consists of Kim Väisänen, Noora Saksa, Minttu Salminen, Amel Gaily, Kaisa Vainikka, Pietari Meriläinen and Ville Voipio.

The jury members represent essential areas of society and have extensive experience and competence in developing ideas and supporting innovation.

The 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.