Innovation Challenge FAQs

The Innovation Challenge is a free, team-based competition for high school students hosted by NIU STEAM and the Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS). Students work together to analyze a real-world problem in the food system and develop a creative, viable solution.

The challenge aims to empower students to become problem-solvers by using essential employability skills, fostering a growth mindset, and demonstrating that they can impact their world now. It also was designed to align with Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidelines for team-based challenges.

This team-based challenge provides your students with a unique opportunity to explore real-life problems that are currently being researched by people currently working in industry.  They will share their unique talents while contributing to their team and have a concrete example of how they can use these skills throughout their future careers.  There are also cash prizes for teams who score in the top 3.

We currently focus on two career clusters, including agriculture, food and natural resources as well as manufacturing, engineering, technology and trades.

The challenge is open to students currently enrolled in:

• High school (grades 9-12).
• An Illinois community college.
• Northern Illinois University (NIU) undergraduates.

Participation can be part of a class, club, or your own group, as long as you have an adult sponsor.

Teams must have 2-4 students.

Each team must have one full-time adult staff member (e.g., teacher, sponsor) from their school to supervise. Multiple teams from the same school are allowed.

Use the buttons on the webpage stating, “Request more information.”  From there, one of our team members will reach out to you with your next steps.

Yes, the deadline to register a team is November 13, 2026. However, we encourage you to get started as soon as possible to increase the amount of time students have to develop their solution and collaborate with our industry mentors.

Some sponsors/teachers have expressed concern with not having expertise in science content, engineering, and/or business practices. However, we have partnerships with individuals from various industries and NIU who will serve as mentors for your students.

Written Submission: A detailed proposal of your team’s solution in the form of a blog post, journal entry, infographic, or a college and career essay.  Teams invited to advance to the second stage of the competition will be provided with feedback in order to make revisions before the final judging process.

In-Person Presentation: A live presentation of your solution to judges in the form of a mock debate, public service announcement, news conference, or a sales pitch.

November 13, 2026: Deadline to register a team

December 11, 2026: Written proposals due

February 27, 2027: In-person presentation competition

Registered teams receive significant support, including:

• Hands-on curricular resources for the problems.
• Mentorship from NIU staff and industry partners.
• Support for writing and presentation skills.
• Workshop opportunities for students
• Rules, scoring, and cash prizes for winning teams

The final score is a weighted combination of both components:

Final Written Submission: 50% of the total score.

In-Person Presentation: 50% of the total score.

Yes! There are separate competitions for each pathway. The top three teams in each bracket win monetary awards for their school:

1st Place: $300 and a trophy

2nd Place: $200

3rd Place: $100

Prize money must be used to benefit the competing group (e.g., technology, equipment, field trips).

There is no cost to participate in phase one of the competition. For teams who advance to phase two and plan to attend the in-person competition, there will be a $25 refundable deposit per team. This is to ensure our team can successfully plan for free competition t-shirts, catering, and staffing the day of the event. Teams who participate on the day of the event will have their deposit fully refunded.

Students are the primary drivers for their success in the competition. They are responsible for researching, developing the solution, writing the proposal, creating and delivering the presentation.

Adults support the students by helping them meet deadlines, providing curricular resources, ensuring they can attend webinars and events, and supervising the team.

Getting Help

You can email the program coordinators:

Becky Swiontek: rswiontek@niu.edu

Chrissy Swartz: cswartz@niu.edu

Or email the general inbox: niusteam@niu.edu

All official rules, regulations, problem scenarios and registration links can be found on the official landing page which you can access once you request more information.