Deadline: 7-May-23

Are you between 15 and 20? Then join the Shape the Future Challenge, brought to you in collaboration with Volkswagen Group, and get a chance to work with international mentors while developing innovative solutions for a greener, sustainable, and accessible future of mobility.

Moonshot Pirates wants you to THINK BIG! Whether you’re interested in autonomous vehicles, smart cities, sustainable transportation, or climate-resilient infrastructure, this challenge is for you.

They believe that young people have what it takes to develop innovative solutions that will make a real difference in tackling the world’s biggest challenges.

The team with the best solution wins a trip to Silicon Valley, California!

Categories

• Volkswagen Group Challenge
  • With its “NEW AUTO – Mobility for Generations to Come” strategy, Volkswagen strives to become one of the world’s leading software-driven mobility providers by 2030. With a wide range of skills and its international network, Volkswagen Group Innovation is dedicated to focal points such as decarbonization, security, conserving resources, and future mobility models for maximum customer benefits.
• Asfinag Challenge
  • As a reliable, innovative, and sustainable mobility partner, they connect regions and people in the heart of Europe. ASFINAG was founded in 1982 and is a company owned by the state. The tasks: They plan, fund, build, maintain, operate, and collect tolls along almost 2,249 kilometers of motorways and expressways.

The Winners’ Trip

The 5-day program in Silicon Valley includes workshops, meeting interesting startups and founders, visiting companies like Meta, Apple, Amazon, and Google. You will explore campuses of the Silicon Valley University and Stanford. You will get all the insights, explore the future of education, and discover the entrepreneurial mindset and moonshot thinking behind the area

Challenge Schedule

• The challenge will take place from May 15 to June 15. You’ll receive short videos (3-10 min) from experts who will guide you and help you proceed with your project. They’d prefer you to watch them once you’ve received them, but if you don’t manage that, you will have access to them at any time once they’re published. In addition, there will be live online workshops with experts for you to attend, and you can book additional calls with mentors to help you with your project.

Eligibility Criteria

• Young people between the ages of 15-20 worldwide can participate in the challenge.
• The challenge program is entirely in the English language. A good understanding and ability to communicate are a must.
• You can still join if you are 14 and turning 15 at some point during the challenge. The same counts if you are still 20 when applying, and at some point during the challenge turning 21, you are still eligible to apply.
• They are looking for innovative ideas in the context of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• They will require signed parental consent for participants who will get to the Final Pitching and are under 18 years old. You will receive the form before joining the Final Pitching Ceremony and need to send it signed by one of your parents before the Final Pitching Ceremony.
• You can apply to the challenge both as a team or individual. If you are applying as a team, still each of you needs to submit an individual application, where you can specify that you are part of a team. If you apply individually, you will get access to the challenge space on the platform, where you can find other participants from all over the world to form a team. Ultimately, you have to be part of a team of 2-6 people to participate in the challenge.
• You can only be part of one team.

For more information, visit Moonshot Pirates.