Science
Original research or an engineering solution to an environmental problem, and a defence of your method in front of judges. By a distance the largest discipline at GENIUS.
Environmental project olympiad
GENIUS Olympiad: projects that change the world
Not running in 2026–27
The organisers have cancelled the Australasian regional round for this season, so there is no entry pathway from New Zealand this year. The competition itself continues. Register below and we will contact you the moment the next round is confirmed.
An international high-school project competition built around environmental issues, spanning nine disciplines: from science and AI to art, film, music and entrepreneurship. Students present their projects to a judging panel at a regional round, and the best qualify for the global finals in Rochester, New York, with university scholarships on the line.
Paused for 2026–27
High school
9 disciplines
Environmental focus
Finals: Rochester, New York
Nine disciplines
Science to short film
Rochester, NY
Global finals, June
Up to US$20,000
RIT scholarships
66+Countries at the finals
2,723Projects submitted in 2025
9Project disciplines
~30%Acceptance rate
Nine disciplines
Every kind of talent. One environmental mission.
GENIUS stands for Global Environmental Issues and Us, and the name is the brief: every discipline connects to a real environmental challenge. Pick the one that fits how your child thinks and creates.
Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning and data analysis pointed at an environmental problem: an agent that actually does something useful, not a demo of someone else's model.
Coding
Software that solves an environmental issue. This one runs in two stages: an online qualifier first, then a 24-hour hackathon at the finals.
Robotics
A robot that does real environmental work: engineering and research, not a kit build. Demonstrated live in the arena at the Sydney round.
Entrepreneurship
A sustainable business that solves an environmental problem, taken from concept to a plan with a revenue model, and a pitch that holds up under questioning.
Art
Photography, poster design or mixed media that makes people look twice at an environmental issue. Solo entry, and the work must be the student's own.
Music
An original composition or performance that moves an audience on an environmental theme. Covers don't count. It has to be the student's own writing.
Short Film
Documentary, narrative or animation aimed at changing how people behave. Screened in person at the finals, so it has to work on a big screen.
Speech
A prepared, persuasive speech delivered live to the judging panel. The shortest brief on the list and, for a lot of students, the hardest one.
Key dates
No round this season
Where the 2026–27 season stands, and what happens next.
The 2026–27 Australasian round has been cancelled
The regional round scheduled for Sydney in November 2026 is not going ahead, an organisational decision by the organisers, not one we had a hand in. There is no way to enter a New Zealand project this season, and no entry fee is being taken. We are sorry: this was the one competition on our list where placing can change what university costs.
Next round
Dates to be confirmed
We have asked the organisers when the next Australasian round will run. Join the list below and you will hear from us as soon as there is a date. Before it is public.
Meanwhile
Keep building the project
Nothing about the work is wasted. A project developed over a full year is a far stronger entry than one assembled in a few weeks, and Science Fair work is usually most of the way there already. If your teenager has something under way, talk to us and we will mentor it as it grows.
At the global finals
Medals, scholarships and a way in
GENIUS is one of the few school competitions where placing can change what university costs. Gold medallists become eligible for a renewable scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology.
Gold
Gold medal, certificate of excellence, a share of the prize fund, and eligibility for an RIT scholarship worth up to US$20,000 a year, renewable.
Silver
Silver medal and a certificate of merit, in the discipline the project was entered in.
Bronze
Bronze medal and a certificate of achievement, in the discipline the project was entered in.
Best Innovation
Best Presentation
Social Impact
Best Junior Project
Every entrant at the global finals receives a certificate of participation.
How Vertex helps
We handle the details. You focus on the learning.
1
Find the angle
We help your child pick a discipline and an environmental problem they genuinely care about. The projects that place are the ones with heart.
2
Mentor the project
Research method, build quality, documentation: regular mentoring keeps the project honest, original and on schedule.
3
Nail the application
We walk you through the paperwork, formats and deadlines so the application does the project justice.
4
Present with confidence
Judges ask hard questions. We rehearse the presentation and defence: for Sydney, and for New York if you qualify.
Questions?
GENIUS Olympiad FAQs
GENIUS is a high-school competition, broadly Years 9–13 in NZ terms. Some disciplines are solo entries, others allow small teams. You don't need to be a Vertex member; if your teenager has a project (or the beginnings of one), talk to us.
Yes, every discipline has an environmental focus at its core, from a science experiment on water quality to a short film about waste. That constraint is the point: it forces original thinking about problems that actually matter.
Strictly. Projects must be the student's own original work, AI chatbots may not write research papers, music must not be covers, and art and film must be the entrant's own. Students must be able to defend their methodology in front of judges, and compliance is checked at the event.
Nothing at all this season, with no Australasian round running in 2026–27 there is no entry to pay for, and joining the next-round list is free. When the competition returns we will publish the entry fee before asking anyone to commit. The shape of it, for planning: an entry fee covering the application and the work of getting it in, then travel to the regional round arranged and paid for by families, and a further and much larger cost if a project reaches the global finals in Rochester. Nothing is ever payable until you have decided to enter.
Next-Round List
Be first to know when GENIUS returns
There is no round to enter this season. Tell us who is keen, with or without a project idea, and you will hear from us the moment the next Australasian round is confirmed, with disciplines, mentoring options and deadlines. Joining the list is free and commits you to nothing.
You're on the list!
Thanks. You're on the GENIUS next-round list. There is nothing running this season, so you won't hear from us until there is a confirmed date, and when there is, you'll hear first.
Joining the list doesn't commit you to anything. It just means we'll reach you first when the next round is announced.