Deadline: 17th January 2024

Applications are now open for the Rise Challenge 2024 for young people from all over the world. Rise is a programme that finds promising young people and offers them life opportunities as they work to serve others. The programme starts between the ages of 15 and 17 and encourages a lifetime of service and learning, providing support that includes needs-based scholarships, mentoring, networking, access to career development opportunities and the potential for additional funding as Rise Global Winners work to solve humanity's most pressing problems.

An initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, Rise is the anchor programme of a US$ 1 billion commitment by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to find and support global talent.

Benefits

• Residential Summit: A fully funded face-to-face residential summit with other members of the Rise Global Winner group. Participation in this summit is required to maintain Global Winner status.
• Higher Education Scholarships: A four-year post-secondary scholarship, including tuition fees and a living allowance, based on need and when not already covered by financial aid.
• Funding for Ideas on a Competitive Basis: Opportunity to apply for funding to experiment with innovative ideas to solve important problems in local communities or around the world - ranging, for example, from seed capital to start a social enterprise to a grant for a not-for-profit company. Funds will be available on a competitive basis to Winners and Finalists.
• Networking Matching: Access to a network of other Global Winners, community members and partner organisations, as well as career development programming, provided primarily through technology (via our matching platform).
• Initial Technology Packages: A technology package, such as a laptop or tablet, to be determined and issued immediately before or during the first semester/period of post-secondary education.

Eligibility

• Candidates for the 2024 cohort must be aged between 15 and 17 on 1 July 2024, which means they were born on or between 2 July 2006 and 1 July 2009.
• It doesn't matter what part of the globe you come from or what academic experience you have. Whether you're interested in science, innovation, technology, art, politics, community organisation or any other discipline - they want to hear from you.

Rise finds promising young people and provides opportunities as they work to serve others throughout their lives. They realise that economic barriers are not the only challenges preventing exceptional people from serving others throughout their lives.

Criteria

Rise Global Winners come from all over the world and demonstrate brilliance in a variety of disciplines. Some may excel in STEM areas, others may demonstrate excellent artistic ability and others may have a gift for community service and organisation.

All the global Rise winners demonstrate the five Rise characteristics:

• Shine
• Perseverance
• Integrity
• Empathy
• Calling

Application

The Rise application is a multi-stage process that gives you the opportunity to tell the organisers more about yourself. Candidates can show their potential through videos, projects and group interviews as part of the Rise application. They also offer alternative low-tech pathways via web browser and paper applications for candidates without access to technology.

Click here to register

For more information, visit Rise Challenge .