Rules & Submission Guide

1. Team rules

Team size: 4 to 6 members. No solo entries and no teams exceeding 6.

Eligibility: The majority of your team must be students in the curriculum of the edition you are entering. See the Eligibility page for full details.

One entry per team: Each team may only submit one solution per edition.

2. The problem

Your team must choose one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and identify a specific, real-world problem within it. The problem should be grounded and concrete — not just "we are addressing climate change" but a particular issue that your solution actually targets.

You must clearly explain the problem as part of your presentation. Vague or overly broad problem statements will weaken your evaluation.

3. The solution

Your team must build a working solution to the problem you identified. It must function — not just be described or proposed. A concept slide deck without a functional output does not qualify as a submission.

The solution can take any form: a software application, a web tool, a hardware prototype, a physical model, a working process, or a combination. What matters is that it works and addresses the specific problem you stated.

4. Tools and methods

There are no tool restrictions. Your team can use AI tools, code, no-code platforms, hardware components, physical materials — anything you need to build your solution. The output is what is evaluated, not the method used to create it.

5. The 4-day window

All work on the solution must take place within the 4-day competition window provided to registered teams. Teams should not submit work that was built before the window opened. The specific start and end times of the window will be communicated after registration.

6. Presentation

At the end of the 4-day window, your team will present your solution to the evaluation panel. Your presentation should cover: the problem you identified, the solution you built, how it works, and why it addresses the problem. More specific presentation format details will be shared after registration.

7. Code of conduct

All participants are expected to behave respectfully and professionally throughout the competition. Plagiarism, submitting work that is not your team's own, or misrepresenting your solution will result in disqualification. SDGDC HL and NextGenNav reserve the right to disqualify any team that violates these expectations.

8. Questions about rules

If you have a question about the rules that is not answered here, contact the relevant NGN entity through the Contact page. For the IGCSE & O Level Edition, contact NGN India.