Hannah Picton
Assistant Programme Manager, Longitude Explorer Prize
11 Jun 2021
After an exciting three months of virtual learning, teamwork and prototyping, we are nearly ready to decide who the winner of the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize is! But it’s not just down to us! Once again, we are opening up our awards to the public and asking everyone to engage with the amazing solutions our young inventors have developed by voting for their favourite!
The Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize is all about demystifying STEM and entrepreneurship through supporting young people who don’t see themselves as being part of these industries to gain hands-on experience and have an opportunity to unlock their potential.
Following 100 plus applications from across the UK this year, and despite hurdles including a national lockdown, 40 teams were selected by our expert judges to participate in the finals.
Over the last few months, each of the teams have taken an initial idea and developed it into a solution which uses technology for social good, aligned to one of our four themes:
Innovations that you can vote for range from a device that generates electricity every time a door opens; robotic medicine dispensers for elderly people; plastic-eating worm farms; rainforest monitoring stations; and an app that helps young women tackle period poverty.
The winning team of the Amazon Longitude Explore Prize People’s Choice Award will receive £5,000 for its school or youth group to help further develop their innovative idea or invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and entrepreneurial resources.
Voting is open for only limited time; from Friday 11 June 2021 to Friday 2 July 2021.