Overview & Description
If you are an undergraduate or graduate university student with a bold idea to redesign materials, products, or business models to eliminate waste and pollution, finding global student competitions that offer major cash funding without taking equity can be challenging. Many early-stage sustainability concepts struggle to secure funding to transition from academic ideas to commercial solutions. The Wege Prize 2027—organized by Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD)—bridges that exact gap, offering a total cash prize purse of over $65,000 USD (~K1,560,000 ZMW) alongside hands-on feedback from world-class circular economy experts.
Quick Summary: KCAD’s Wege Center for Sustainable Design Studies is officially accepting applications for the Wege Prize 2027. Open to multidisciplinary teams of five undergraduate or graduate students worldwide, this global student competition challenges teams to collaborate across disciplines to design actionable solutions that address systemic environmental, economic, and social challenges through circular economy principles.
| 📅 Application Deadline | Sunday, 11 October 2026 |
| 📍 Location / Host | Global / Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), USA |
| 💰 Value / Perks | 1st Place: $30,000 (~K720,000 ZMW) | 2nd Place: $20,000 (~K480,000 ZMW) | 3rd Place: $10,000 (~K240,000 ZMW) + Expert Feedback |
| 🏢 Category | Competitions & Awards / Fellowships |
Overview / What This Opportunity Entails
The Wege Prize is an international student competition that accelerates circular economy solutions. Unlike traditional single-discipline competitions, the Wege Prize requires students to form multidisciplinary teams that cross academic fields and institutional boundaries.
Participating teams progress through a multi-phase design process from late 2026 through mid-2027, refining their solutions with direct input from an international panel of judges and circular economy leaders.
Core Details & Key Responsibilities / Benefits
Selected winning teams receive substantial non-dilutive cash awards to seed their ventures:
- 1st Place Award: $30,000 USD (~K720,000 ZMW) cash prize for the winning student team.
- 2nd Place Award: $20,000 USD (~K480,000 ZMW) cash prize.
- 3rd Place Award: $10,000 USD (~K240,000 ZMW) cash prize.
- Finalist & Merit Awards: Additional cash awards ($2,500 USD / ~K60,000 ZMW each) for non-placing finalist teams and runner-up honorable mentions.
- Expert Coaching & Mentorship: Direct, multi-round constructive feedback from international judges, designers, and industry pioneers.
Self-Qualification: Do You Match the Profile?
Review these official team eligibility rules before submitting your application:
- Team Composition Requirement: Teams must consist of exactly five (5) students.
- Multidisciplinary Rule: The team must represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines (e.g., engineering, business, graphic design, agricultural science, environmental studies).
- Institutional Diversity: Students can be from the same university or from different universities/colleges anywhere in the world.
- Student Status: Open to both undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an accredited higher education institution at the time of application.
- Core Concept Alignment: The proposed design solution must be grounded in circular economy principles—designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.
AI Application Prompts (Use ChatGPT / Claude)
Copy and paste these custom AI prompts to refine your team’s application essay:
- Prompt 1: Draft Our Circular Economy Solution Summary“Act as a circular design strategist. Our team is applying for the Wege Prize 2027. Using our project details below, write a compelling 300-word solution overview demonstrating how our design eliminates waste, keeps materials in use, and creates economic value across multiple sectors:\n\n[PASTE YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCT OR SERVICE IDEA HERE]”
- Prompt 2: Justify Our Multidisciplinary Team Structure“Act as an innovation consultant. Based on our 5 team member profiles pasted below, draft a 200-word Multidisciplinary Team Statement explaining how our diverse academic backgrounds (representing at least 3 distinct disciplines) complement each other to solve a complex systemic environmental challenge:\n\n[PASTE YOUR TEAM MEMBERS’ MAJORS & ACADEMIC BACKGROUNDS HERE]”
How to Apply (Step-by-Step)
Follow these sequential steps to register your student team:
- Form Your 5-Member Team: Recruit exactly 5 undergraduate or graduate students representing at least 3 distinct academic majors or disciplines.
- Develop Circular Solution Concept: Outline your design solution addressing a systemic environmental or socio-economic problem using circular economy principles.
- Register on Official Portal: Complete team registration details on the official Wege Prize platform before 11 October 2026.
- Submit Phase 1 Material: Submit your initial 100-word team narrative and solution abstract following the registration confirmation guidelines.
How to Submit Your Application
Access the official competition platform to register your team and submit your circular design concept directly before the closing deadline.