The Learning Planet Institute, formerly known as CRI (Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity), is a Paris-based research and education institution dedicated to rethinking how people learn and how knowledge is created. Affiliated with Universite Paris Cite, the institute brings together researchers, educators, students, and civil society organisations around the shared question of how learning can be made more human-centred, interdisciplinary, and globally relevant.

Each year, the Learning Planet Institute hosts the Learning Planet Festival, a global event that connects learners, educators, scientists, artists, and policymakers across dozens of countries. The Youth Design Challenge is a flagship youth programme running alongside this ecosystem, inviting young people to move from observing the conversation about learning futures to actively shaping it through design and collaborative problem-solving.

The challenge draws on design thinking, systems thinking, and participatory research methods to help young participants develop solutions that are both innovative and grounded in real community needs. It is not a competition in the traditional sense: the emphasis is on the learning process and the quality of the ideas generated, not simply on ranking participants.

Participants in the Learning Planet Youth Design Challenge 2027 receive the following support:

• Access to a structured design challenge framework with expert mentorship and coaching
• Online workshops and collaborative sessions with young innovators from multiple countries
• Connection to the global Learning Planet community of researchers, educators, and changemakers
• Travel funding and accommodation support for finalists selected to present at the Learning Planet event in Paris
• Certificate of participation and recognition within the Learning Planet global network
• Opportunity to present your project to international education and sustainability experts

For finalists who travel to Paris, the programme covers transport and accommodation, making participation fully accessible regardless of financial background.

The Learning Planet Youth Design Challenge 2027 follows a structured process that moves participants from problem framing to prototype development over the course of several months:

• Participants apply individually or as a small team and submit an initial expression of interest describing their motivation and ideas
• Accepted participants join online orientation sessions and are introduced to the design challenge theme and methodology
• Teams work through facilitated design sprints, guided by mentors from the Learning Planet network
• Mid-challenge check-ins and peer reviews help teams refine and improve their solutions
• Final projects are presented in an online showcase, and selected teams are invited to Paris for the flagship event

The challenge is collaborative rather than competitive. Participants are encouraged to work across national and disciplinary boundaries and to draw on community knowledge and lived experience in building their solutions.

Each edition of the Learning Planet Youth Design Challenge is built around a theme that connects learning and sustainability. The 2027 edition invites participants to design solutions at the intersection of education, community resilience, and planetary health. Past challenge themes have included redesigning assessment in schools, creating accessible learning pathways for marginalised youth, and building tools for climate education in non-formal settings.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own context and community knowledge to the challenge. A participant in Mumbai, Nairobi, or Mexico City might approach the same learning challenge theme from a completely different angle than a participant in Paris or Berlin, and this diversity of perspectives is precisely what the Learning Planet Institute values.

Can I apply as an individual or do I need a team?

Both individual applications and small team applications are typically accepted. If you apply as an individual, the programme may connect you with other participants to form a collaborative group during the challenge process. Applying with a team of two to four people is also an option and can strengthen an application if team members bring complementary skills or backgrounds.

Is the programme conducted in English?

English is the primary language of the Learning Planet Youth Design Challenge. Facilitated sessions, mentor interactions, and the final showcase all take place in English. Participants who are not native English speakers are welcome, and the challenge is designed to be accessible across different levels of English proficiency, with an emphasis on collaborative communication over formal presentation skills.

What background disciplines are relevant?

The challenge is explicitly interdisciplinary. Participants from education, design, engineering, social sciences, arts, environmental science, data science, community development, public health, and many other fields have participated in previous editions. The most valuable teams combine different disciplinary perspectives, and the Learning Planet Institute encourages applications from students and young people who do not fit neatly into a single academic category.

What does travel support for finalists include?

Finalists selected to present at the Paris event typically receive support covering economy class return flights and accommodation for the duration of the event. The exact scope of travel support is confirmed with finalist teams at the time of selection. Participants who are not selected for Paris are still recognised in the online showcase and remain part of the Learning Planet community.