What problem will matter much more ten years from now, and what would you create to address it?
Look ahead to 2037. Identify a problem that you believe will become more important over the next decade, understand why existing responses may fall short, and make the case for something better.
What you'll need to do
- IdentifyChoose a problem you think will matter more by 2037. Show why.
- ProposeDevelop a product, service, business or system that could address it.
- Test your thinkingConsider the evidence, alternatives, practical constraints and what would need to be true for your idea to work.
Where could you take this?
The problem is yours to choose. These are examples, not prescribed topics.
Care and ageing
What will happen as more countries have significantly older populations and fewer working-age people?
Automation and work
Which jobs will change fastest as machines take on more tasks, and who will help the people doing them?
Food systems
How will the world feed more people as droughts, floods and heatwaves become more frequent?
Education
If anyone can get an AI tutor, what will students still struggle to find?
Housing and cities
Why are cities so hard to afford for young people, and what would change that?
Energy
What stops homes and businesses switching to clean energy, even when it is cheaper?
What makes a strong entry?
A strong response will:
- Choose carefullyFocus on a specific problem rather than trying to solve everything.
- Use evidenceShow why the problem is likely to matter and support important claims.
- Think independentlyDon't simply repeat the conventional answer.
- Pressure-test the ideaConsider what could go wrong, what already exists and what would need to be true.
- Connect it to youBriefly, say how the problem touches you or your community, or how you might help tackle it in the career you hope to have.
- Make the case clearlyA reader should understand both your reasoning and your proposed response.
See the full judging criteria →
What you'll practise
By completing this challenge, you'll practise how to:
- spot an emerging problem and work out whether it really matters
- research unfamiliar territory and distinguish evidence from assumption
- develop an original response rather than simply describing the problem
- test your own argument against alternatives and practical constraints
- explain a complex idea clearly to a non-specialist reader
Help getting started
Ready to make your case?
Enterprise and Innovation · Up to 1,000 words · Written, individual