Guidelines for participation

Who can participate?   

The Spring Idea Competition is open to all young people aged 15–19 living in Finland. Participating young people must be aged 15–19 by 1.4.2025 at the latest. The Spring Idea Contest is open to teams of 3–5 people. Team members can be from different cities, schools and backgrounds. Teams can participate in the competition as part of studies or in free time.  

How to participate?   

Teams develop an idea that can change the world for the better in some way and that they want to promote. Ideas can be big or small. You can also enter the Spring Idea Competition with an initial idea. For inspiration and questions to help you brainstorm, visit the Inspire page.  Teams should submit their ideas to the Spring Idea Contest by 23:59 on the last day of the application period using the application form on the website.    

What are the criteria for the competition?  

Ideas will be judged by Spring on the basis of the following selection criteria:  

  • Identification of the problem  
  • Relevance of the idea  
  • Insightfulness of the idea 
  • The potential for wider application of the idea  
  • Team composition and motivation.  

What happens after the idea is submitted?   

The Spring-team will select 12 teams amongst the applicants to proceed in the competition. The shortlisted teams will be invited to an Idea Weekend at VALO Hotel in Helsinki on 11–13 April 2025, where they will receive support to further develop their idea. At the end of the weekend, six teams will be selected by the expert jury to advance to the next stage of the competition.

The three winning teams of Spring will be selected in the spring of 2025.

What will the Spring winners receive as prizes?   

Spring winners will be rewarded with summer jobs. During the summer job, the teams will take the idea further and make it a reality.

The summer job includes a study trip in Europe to learn from inspiring international examples. The practical arrangements for the summer job and the trip will be agreed with the winning teams.

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Participation in the Spring idea competition is free of charge.