Paid opportunities — page 18

Kokuyo Design Award

Kokuyo (Japan)

An annual stationery, furniture, and everyday-tool design competition open globally, judged on originality and practical usability, with a substantial cash grand prize.

#competition#design#product-design

Apply → kokuyo-award.org

Australian National University

ANU Science Case Study Competition

A case-study competition for undergraduate teams analyzing a real scientific or policy problem (such as critical minerals or mental health), judged on rigor and communication.

#competition#case-study#science

Apply → anu.edu.au

📍 Global (online)PaidHard

Reply Cyber Security Challenge

Reply

A 24-hour team cybersecurity competition spanning categories like cryptography, web security, and reverse engineering, judged on a capture-the-flag scoring system.

#hackathon#cybersecurity#team

Apply → challenges.reply.com

EY Techathon

Ernst & Young (EY) India

A student hackathon challenging teams to apply emerging technology like AI and automation to real business and community problems across several themed tracks.

📍 IndiaPaidMedium

#hackathon#india#team

Apply → ey.com

Apply → harbinger.rbihub.in

RBI Harbinger: Innovation for Transformation Hackathon

Reserve Bank of India

India's central bank hackathon inviting teams to build fintech solutions across themes like fraud prevention and green finance, with one of the largest cash prize pools in Indian hackathons.

📍 IndiaPaidHard

#hackathon#fintech#india

Founder

Visa Everywhere Initiative

Visa

A global startup competition supporting founders building innovative payment and commerce technologies, with cash prizes and mentorship from Visa's innovation team.

📍 Global (regional heats)PaidMedium

#competition#fintech#startup

Apply → visaeverywhereinitiative.com

Founder

Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge

UNDP / Citi Foundation

A regional startup idea challenge for young people building solutions to social problems such as education access, care work, and disability inclusion, with seed funding for finalists.

📍 Asia-Pacific regionPaidMedium

#competition#social-enterprise#youth

Apply → youthcolab.org

Founder

Young Social Entrepreneurs Programme

Singapore International Foundation

An eight-month program helping young people start or scale social enterprises, combining mentorship, cross-border study visits, and seed funding for top proposals.

📍 Singapore (with international components)PaidMedium

#accelerator#social-enterprise#mentorship

Apply → sif.org.sg

Government of Punjab / Indian School of Business

Punjab Good Governance Fellowship Program

A fellowship placing graduates as Governance or District Development Fellows within the Punjab state government, combined with structured training at the Indian School of Business.

📍 Punjab, IndiaPaidMedium

#fellowship#governance#india

Apply → punjab.gov.in

UN Institute for Disarmament Research

UNIDIR Global Disarmament Essay Competition

An essay competition inviting young people to write on disarmament, arms control, and international security, with a funded trip to Geneva for the winner.

📍 Global (online); winner trip to GenevaPaidMedium

#competition#essay#disarmament

Apply → unidir.org

Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP)

GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security

A prize for innovative concepts addressing global peace and security challenges, with winners receiving a funded incubation period at GCSP in Geneva.

📍 Geneva, SwitzerlandPaidMedium

#competition#peace#security

Apply → gcsp.ch

Kellogg School of Management / Morgan Stanley

Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge

A graduate student pitch competition for innovative financial solutions to social and environmental problems, with a New York or London final pitch event.

📍 Global (online); final in New York or LondonPaidHard

#competition#finance#sustainability

Apply → kellogg.northwestern.edu

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

German Chancellor Fellowship

A twelve-month fellowship funding a self-designed project year in Germany for future leaders from the US, Russia, China, India, and Brazil, paired with a German mentor.

📍 GermanyPaidHard

#fellowship#germany#leadership

Apply → humboldt-foundation.de

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (UK)

Commonwealth Master's Scholarships

Full scholarships for master's study at UK universities for students from developing Commonwealth countries, covering tuition, travel, and living costs.

📍 United KingdomPaidHard

#scholarship#commonwealth#uk

Apply → cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (UK)

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships

A short-term professional development placement (six weeks to three months) in the UK for mid-career professionals from Commonwealth developing countries.

📍 United KingdomPaidHard

#fellowship#professional-development#uk

Apply → cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk

Stanford Center on Longevity

Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge

A design competition for student teams proposing products or services that improve healthy aging and human longevity, judged in a final pitch round.

📍 Global (online); finals at Stanford, USAPaidHard

#competition#design#healthcare

Apply → longevity.stanford.edu

Global Canvas Children's Art Competition

Global Canvas

A children's art competition spanning painting, sculpture, textile, and collage on an annual theme, with cash or supply-voucher prizes for winners.

#competition#art#children

Apply → globalcanvas.org

Toyota Logistic Design Competition

Toyota

A design competition inviting student teams to propose 2D or 3D circular-economy object designs addressing transportation and material-use challenges.

#competition#design#sustainability

Apply → toyota-mobility.com

H.G. Wells Society / literary festival

HG Wells Short Story Competition

An annual themed short-story competition for young writers under 21, with a notable cash grand prize and publication opportunity.

#competition#writing#fiction

Apply → hgwellscompetition.com

Depict! (UK film festival)

Depict! Short Film Competition

A short film competition capping entries at 90 seconds across any genre, screened at UK festivals, with a modest cash prize pool.

#competition#film#short-form

Apply → depictfilms.com

📍 Global (online submission)PaidHard

Yale Drama Series Playwriting Competition

Yale University Press

A playwriting competition for early-career writers judged by a working playwright, with the winning full-length play published by Yale University Press and given a professional staged reading.

#competition#playwriting#literature

Apply → yalebooks.yale.edu

📍 Global (online); workshop in Los Angeles, USAPaidMedium

Sony Future Filmmaker Awards

Sony Pictures

A short-film competition across genre categories including a dedicated student track, with a funded workshop trip to Sony Pictures Studios for finalists.

#competition#film#student

Apply → sonyfuturefilmmakerawards.com

Royal Observatory Greenwich

Astronomy Photographer of the Year

One of the world's leading astrophotography competitions, spanning categories from deep sky to people-and-space, with substantial cash prizes and a London exhibition.

📍 Global (online submission)PaidHard

#competition#photography#astronomy

Apply → rmg.co.uk

American Meteorological Society

American Meteorological Society Photo Contest

A photography competition capturing weather, water, and climate phenomena, judged by atmospheric scientists, with modest cash prizes for winners.

#competition#photography#weather

Apply → ametsoc.org

Royal Meteorological Society

Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year

A weather and climate photography competition across multiple categories including a youth award, celebrating images of meteorological phenomena worldwide.

#competition#photography#weather

Apply → rmets.org

500px Global Photography Awards

500px

An annual photography competition across six genre categories, judged by industry photographers, with cash prizes for category winners.

#competition#photography#global

Apply → 500px.com

Rossiya Segodnya (Sputnik)

Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest

A photojournalism competition for young photographers documenting current events, spanning news, sports, and portrait categories, with a substantial cash grand prize.

📍 Global (online submission)PaidHard

#competition#photography#journalism

Apply → stenincontest.com

Current World Archaeology magazine

Current World Archaeology (CWA) Photo Competition

A photography competition celebrating archaeological sites and heritage worldwide, with winners receiving conference passes and a magazine feature.

#competition#photography#archaeology

Apply → the-past.com

Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)

Environmental Photographer of the Year

A photography award recognizing images that capture the human relationship with the environment, spanning categories from climate change to conservation.