Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an exciting science competition for students. Now in its 10th year, the Challenge invites young people worldwide to create and submit a creative, original video that cleverly explains a complex scientific idea.
The 2024 Breakthrough Junior Challenge is now in its Popular Vote stage, where anyone can vote for their favourite video. This judging stage, which ends on 20 September 2024, helps choose a Popular Vote Top Scorer and seven Regional Champions.
Here’s what you need to know about the Breakthrough Junior Challenge and how to join the Popular Vote.
Inspiring Students With Science
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an annual international science competition for 13-to-18-year-olds. Tech entrepreneur Yuri Milner and his wife Julia founded the competition to inspire innovative thinking about scientific ideas amongst young people.
To participate, students must make a short video (two minutes maximum) in English explaining a theory or principle from physics, mathematics, or the life sciences.
The videos can take any format, from talking head or documentary to dramatic reconstruction or animation. The competition encourages the use of visually appealing elements like demonstrations, simulations, and diagrams that will captivate and engage viewers.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is all about taking part and sharing a passion for science. However, there are prizes worth a total of $400,000 available. The competition winner receives a $250,000 post-secondary scholarship, a $50,000 cash prize for their teacher, and a new science lab for their school worth $100,000.
Last year’s competition winner, Sia Godika, will use her college scholarship to study computer science and biology. Her brother Samay, who also won the Challenge six years ago, studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Past Years’ Winning Videos
Videos from past Breakthrough Junior Challenge winners have covered a variety of fascinating topics, including:
- The special theory of relativity. 18-year-old Ryan from the U.S. became the first Breakthrough Junior Challenge winner in 2015 with his creative video about Einstein’s important theory.
- Quantum entanglement. 18-year-old Antonella from Peru won the Challenge in 2016 with a fun video that compared quantum physics to magic.
- Antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 17-year-old Deanna from Singapore also won in 2016 with her video on superbugs and the fight against antibiotic resistance.
- Relativity and the equivalence of reference frames. 18-year-old Hillary from the Philippines won in 2017 with a video that made this difficult theory easy to understand.
- Circadian rhythm. 16-year-old Samay from India won in 2018 with his video explaining how circadian rhythms regulate bodily functions like alertness and cell repair.
- Neutrino astronomy. 17-year-old Jeffery from the U.S. won in 2019 with his video on neutrino astronomy, which used animation and diagrams to simplify the subject.
- Quantum tunnelling. 17-year-old Maryam from Canada won the 2020 Challenge with an entertaining video that illustrated particle behaviour at the quantum level.
- Van der Waals and Casimir forces. 18-year-old Amber from Mauritius won the competition in 2021 with her video, which showed how van der Waals and Casimir forces influence atoms and molecules.
- Light and sleep cycle. 16-year-old Noor from the U.S. won the 2022 Challenge with her video about how blue light affects our ability to sleep.
- Yamanaka factors. Sia won the 2024 Challenge with her life sciences-focused entry. The video illuminated specific proteins that can reprogramme adult cells to become stem cells.
The Competition Judging Process and Timeline
A few key milestones mark the journey to winning the Breakthrough Junior Challenge:
- 1 April — 25 June: The competition website opens for applications.
- 27 June — 10 July: Entrants must score at least five other submissions as part of the Peer-to-Peer Review.
- 10-17 July: An administrative review ensures that up to 75 of the top entries comply with the competition requirements. Entries that pass this review advance to the next phase of the competition.
- 18 July — 13 August: An Evaluation Panel of top-class scholars and science leaders scores and judges the top submissions from the Peer-to-Peer Review. These experts assess the videos against four criteria — engagement, illumination, creativity, and difficulty — and choose up to 30 of the best. Top-scoring videos clearly and creatively explain a challenging subject and hold the viewer’s attention.
- 14 August — 4 September: Competition staff review and verify the submissions that the Evaluation Panel has selected. Videos that pass this review advance to the next judging phase.
- 5-20 September: The Popular Vote opens to the public.
- 21 September: The competition announces the finalists, including the Popular Vote Top Scorer and Regional Champions. The Popular Vote Top Scorer bypasses the next judging phase, the Selection Committee, and proceeds to the final round.
Finally, a Selection Committee reviews and scores the top finalists as chosen by the Evaluation Panel and chooses up to five entries for final consideration. The Popular Vote Top Scorer also joins this group for the final review and selection of the overall winner. The competition usually announces the winner in February of the following year.
How To Join the Popular Vote
Each year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge invites the world to take part in its judging process through the Popular Vote. Viewers can watch the Evaluation Panel’s selected videos on the Breakthrough Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The video that receives the most “likes” and positive reactions (such as “Love, Haha, and Wow”) on Facebook and YouTube becomes the Popular Vote Top Scorer. The Popular Vote also determines the Regional Champions for each of the following geographic areas:
- North America (the U.S. and Canada).
- Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America.
- Africa and the Middle East.
- Asia, including China.
- Australia and New Zealand.
Support the next generation of brilliant minds by taking part in this year’s Breakthrough Junior Challenge Popular Vote. Vote on Facebook, YouTube, or both platforms before the Popular Vote closes on 20 September 2024.
About Julia and Yuri Milner
Julia and Yuri Milner founded the Breakthrough Junior Challenge in 2015 as part of their Giving Pledge to advance science and communicate scientific ideas. They are thrilled that the competition is inspiring young people globally, helping them grow as scientists and share the wonders of science with their peers.
The Milners’ Giving Pledge has also inspired the creation of the Breakthrough Prize, the Breakthrough Initiatives, and Tech For Refugees.
The Breakthrough Prize
Co-founded by the Milners, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Sergey Brin, and Anne Wojcicki, the Breakthrough Prize is the world’s largest scientific award. Each year, it grants several $3 million prizes to researchers who have made significant advances in fundamental physics, mathematics, and life sciences.
The Breakthrough Initiatives
The Breakthrough Initiatives comprise various astronomical and space engineering programmes. These initiatives explore major questions about life in the Universe, such as the possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth.
Tech For Refugees
Tech For Refugees is a non-profit organisation that leverages technology to support refugees. It collaborates with prominent tech companies like Uber and aid organisations like UNICEF to assist displaced people and those living in crisis zones.
Eureka Manifesto
A former theoretical physicist, Yuri Milner believes humanity should invest in areas like fundamental science and space exploration to further the progress of our civilisation. His short book Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation explores these themes and proposes a shared mission to explore and understand our Universe.
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