Audience Choice Award: Student Challenge 2026

How can we keep Earth’s orbit safe and sustainable as space becomes more crowded?

That was the big question behind this year’s Student Challenge. Girls aged 14 to 19 from across Europe were invited to tackle a problem with real consequences for our planet: choose one space component and redesign it so that, if it fails, it creates as little harmful space debris as possible.

More than 200 teams answered the call with bold, inventive solutions. A panel of expert evaluators has selected 28 national winners, and now it is your turn. Vote for your three favourite teams and help crown the Audience Choice Winner!

All national winners are invited to the EIT Women and Girls in STEM Forum in Prague on 25 and 26 November 2026, where the winning team and Audience Choice Winner will be revealed.

Voting closes on 18 November 2026 at 14:00 CET.