The Junior Academy

The Junior Academy is a project-based learning program where students form international teams and work with STEM experts through an online community platform. Students participate in innovation challenges where they collaborate under the guidance of STEM mentors to design solutions to real-world problems. Students and mentors can participate from anywhere in the world.

Challenges are sponsored by industry-leading companies and are preceded by a kick-off week, which provides preparation for the challenges and builds relevant skills in areas such as research methods, design thinking and data analysis. Once a challenge begins, students self-select into teams and gain access to STEM experts, who serve as mentors, guiding teams throughout the challenge process. Additional STEM professionals serve as judges who score each solution and choose a winning team. 

The Junior Academy connects students, experts and industry leaders through the Academy’s virtual collaborative learning platform, Launchpad. Launchpad is where all of our programming takes place and where we host our in-depth discussions, challenges, expert talks and more. This platform was built specifically to support the Junior Academy network — there’s nothing else like it. The platform is accessible to all, providing students with the support they need to pursue their science curiosity. Community leaders are charged with making sure all students receive the individualized support they need to access our platform.

Hear From Junior Academy Students

Hear students in the Junior Academy talk about how the program works and their firsthand experience innovating creative ideas to solve real world challenges.

Innovators Like You Around the World

Check out the map below to see where our Junior Academy members are located!

Benefits

The Challenge Process

Recruitment

Acceptance

Onboarding

Students are recruited internationally during either the spring or winter recruitment periods. Students can expect their notifications of acceptance or rejection in either August or January depending on their recruitment cycle. After acceptance to the program, students must create a profile on our Launchpad platform to effectively accept their spot in the Junior Academy.

Resource Library

Challenge Launch

Team Formation

Challenges take place twice a year, in September and in February. They are first introduced by sharing a Resource Library. This is a list of interesting articles and papers connected to the challenge so students can begin their investigation into which challenge they are interested in tackling. Challenge Launch begins the first day of Kick-Off Week all of the available challenges are open and student can begin to create teams and projects. Team Formation is an important step in the Junior Academy. Students create their own teams by either creating their own project or asking to join others!

Mentor Matching

Solution Design &
Challenge Phases

Solution Presentation

Mentors are on the Launchpad platform to aid students in their project. Remember they do not do the project for you- they are just therefor guidance. Mentors are not required nor are they guaranteed. After team formation ends, the challenge phases begin. It is important to pay attention to due dates of each milestone as they are important steps to achieve your solution presentation! Finally at the end of either November or April, depending on which semester you are participating in, you will turn in your solution presentation. Remember, no late work!

Judging

Winner Announcement

Certificates &
Young Memberships

After you turn in your final solution presentation each challenge enters a judging period. This judging period is both internal and external. During this time, internal judges review all of the submitted work and move 10 projects of distinction to external judging. External judges are professionals and experts who judge the projects of distinction and declare a winner and two finalist teams. After the results are gathered, we announce who the winning team of each challenge is during December or May, depending on the semester! At the very end of the year, in the summer of 2026, all of the students who fully participated in one of the fall or spring innovation challenges, meaning they turned in all of their milestone work ON TIME, will receive a certificate and a Young Membership to The New York Academy of Sciences.

For Students

For Mentors

“Working with students…was a win-win. We motivated each other as we were in this to make a difference. My team’s brilliance and relentless work ethic have produced something that I truly think is going to change the world. That’s awesome and inspiring.”

STEM experts and professionals who are STEM enthusiasts can engage with the Junior Academy community by serving as Mentors. Mentors work with student teams on virtual Innovation Challenges by encouraging and supporting the students as they move through the different phases of the scientific process — researching and brainstorming, proposing an innovative design, experimenting to test their hypothesis, analyzing feedback and preparing a final presentation about their solution.

Innovation Challenges are offered twice during the program year. Fall Challenges take place from mid-September to mid-November. Spring Challenges take place from mid-February to mid-April. Mentors may choose to participate in the Fall, the Spring, or both.

Mentors can choose to engage in two ways: 1) As a Dedicated Mentor to one or more teams, guiding them through the process and providing in-depth feedback. 2) As a Floating Mentor to support all challenge participants by answering questions and providing expert feedback upon request.

Mentor Eligibility Requirements

Qualified mentors for the Junior Academy are:

Undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs or professionals working in a STEM-related field
Passionate about engaging and inspiring the next generation of STEM innovators
Able to access at least one communication device with internet capabilities
Able to communicate clearly in spoken and written English
At least 18 years of age
Experienced in conducting original scientific research (preferred but not required)

Mentor Time Commitment

All Mentors accepted to the program should expect to spend 1-2 hours on orientation and training at the start of their first program term.

During the challenge period, mentors should generally expect to spend 1–2 hours per week answering student questions, providing input on projects, or meeting with teams. The timing of this is flexible, and is based on your schedule. This work and communication can be done both synchronously and asynchronously.

Throughout the year, we may ask mentors to participate in focus groups and surveys. These are optional, and can range from a few minutes to a couple of hours.

Mentor Application Process and Program Participation

Mentor applications are accepted on a continuous basis. All submitted applications will be reviewed twice a year and decisions will be shared prior to the upcoming term.
- Application Review and Decisions will take place each August for the upcoming Fall Challenges.
- Application Review and Decisions will take place each January for the upcoming Spring Challenges.
We will complete background checks on all mentors.
Mentors are expected to complete program training and orientation.

Apply Today

Mentor applications for virtual programs are accepted on a rolling basis.

Apply to be a Mentor

FAQ

When are applications open for students?

Applications for the Junior Academy are open twice a year. For the Fall semester, the application period typically runs from March to July. For the Spring semester, we hold special application periods from November to January.

What are the current important dates for students?

The Junior Academy is currently accepting applications for Fall 2025.

Applications open: March 27, 2025
Applications close: July 1, 2025
Admission decisions sent out: by August 31, 2025

How do I apply for the Junior Academy?

If you are interested in joining the Junior Academy community, you can apply by filling out an application found here: https://gsa.smapply.io/prog/student_programs_/

Please note: Students who are already part of the Junior Academy on Launchpad do NOT need to apply again in order to participate the following year.

When will I know if I am accepted to the Junior Academy?

Depending on which enrollment period you are submitting your application, you will typically receive notification of your acceptance or rejection by email by January 31st or August 31st. We do not notify applicants before that time.

What is the official language of the program?

English is the official language of the Launchpad platform and the Junior Academy.

We encourage you to practice English communication on Launchpad. You are allowed to communicate in your native language with team members who share your language. Keep in mind that everyone accepted into the program is required to have a basic understanding of English and ability to communicate in English. The work that you submit in Launchpad for your challenges, milestones, and projects must be in English.

What are the age requirements?

All Junior Academy applicants must be aged 13-17 to be approved to be on the Launchpad platform.

If you are turning 18 during the challenge, unfortunately you cannot participate. We are not able to allow students under the age of 18 to participate with students over the age of 18.

Junior Academy students who turn 18 automatically get placed into an Alumni Community on Launchpad.

Does participation cost anything?

No. The Junior Academy is free of charge to all students and mentors. No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win a Challenge.

Do I need to travel anywhere to participate in the challenge?

No travel is necessary to participate. Challenges and events take place virtually and all communication can be done via Launchpad.

What do I get for participating in a challenge?

Students who fully complete a Junior Academy challenge, meaning they have turned in all milestones and a final solution within the 10 week challenge, will receive a certificate of completion and a complementary Young Membership to The New York Academy of Sciences. ONLY students who have fully completed a challenge will receive a certificate and a Young Membership to the Academy.

Do winning teams receive a prize?

Yes, one winning team and two finalist teams will be decided upon by a panel of expert judges at the end of each challenge period. Prizes are educational and are only provided to winning teams. There are NO travel components. The entire program and events are held virtually.

Is there an end of year celebration?

Yes, there is a celebration called The Virtual Student Symposia. Challenge winners from the academic year present their solutions to sponsors, challenge experts, The New York Academy of Sciences staff, program staff, mentors, and peers.

Where is the Virtual Student Symposia held?

The Virtual Student Symposia is held online. It is completely virtual and there are no travel components.

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Contact Us

For more information, contact education@nyas.org.

The Junior Academy

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