What scientific or technological development could most improve life by 2037, and what needs to happen to make it possible?
Look ahead to 2037. Choose a development in science or technology that could make a real difference to people's lives, work out what is actually holding it back, and make the case for what needs to happen next.
What you'll need to do
- IdentifyChoose a development that could improve life by 2037. Show what it could change, and for whom.
- Find the barrierWork out what stands in the way: the science itself, cost, regulation, infrastructure or public trust.
- Test your thinkingConsider the evidence, the risks, who could be left out and what would need to be true for it to happen.
Where could you take this?
The focus is yours to choose. These are examples, not prescribed topics.
Early diagnosis
If many diseases could be detected years earlier, who would get access first?
Energy storage
What would change if storing clean electricity became cheap?
AI in research
Could AI speed up scientific discovery, and how would we know its results are right?
Food and farming
Which technologies could help farms produce more on a hotter, drier planet?
Clean water
What could secure safe water for cities that are running short of it?
Data from orbit
What could better satellite data change for people on the ground?
What makes a strong entry?
A strong response will:
- Choose carefullyFocus on one development, not a whole field.
- Use evidenceShow what the science can do today, and support important claims.
- Think independentlyLook past the hype and the headlines to your own judgement.
- Pressure-test the ideaConsider the risks, the costs, who could be excluded and what would need to be true.
- Connect it to youBriefly, say how this development could affect you or your community, or what part you might play in it in the career you hope to have.
- Make the case clearlyA reader who isn't a scientist should follow both the science and your argument.
See the full judging criteria →
What you'll practise
By completing this challenge, you'll practise how to:
- read scientific evidence and tell established findings from early results
- separate what is possible from what is likely and explain the difference
- trace how research becomes something people use and where it gets stuck
- weigh benefits against risks including who gains and who could be left out
- explain a technical idea clearly to a non-specialist reader
Help getting started
Ready to make your case?
Science and Technology · Up to 1,000 words · Written, individual