Samsung Canada announces judge lineup for 2023-2024 Solve for Tomorrow Contest

National contest invites Canadian classrooms to drive sustainable change through impactful ideas and a chance to win $50,000 for their school.

Samsung Canada is proud to announce the judge lineup for its 2023/24 Solve for Tomorrow Contest[1], Samsung’s annual competition that invites invite students to showcase their creativity, innovation and passion by developing ideas and inventions to strive toward a more sustainable world.

This year’s competition, which opened for submissions in November, is inviting Canadian teachers and their classrooms in grades 6 through 12 to propose innovative sustainability solutions that will have a meaningful impact on the future of our planet. In line with this year’s theme, the Solve for Tomorrow judge lineup includes sustainability advocates and thought leaders, along with members of the Samsung Canada team. The judge lineup is as follows:

• Tovah Barocas, President and CEO of Earth Rangers, a charity that works with schools across the country to transform children and youth’s concerns about the environment into positive action. The Earth Rangers App has helped over 60,000 children and youth address eco-anxiety concerns in children across Canada and counting.
• Phil De Luna, Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering at Deep Sky, a carbon removals developer building large scale infrastructure to reverse climate change. Phil is a Governor General Gold Medal winning scientist, ranked in the top 0.1 per cent in the world in his field, a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, an adjunct Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto, and a Forbes Top 30 Under 30.
• Naila Moloo, an accomplished teen innovator, author, and researcher curious about leveraging technology for climate solutions. Naila is currently developing climate solutions such as flexible plastic-free solar cells leveraging nanomaterials, and building a bioplastic from duckweed in partnership with Pond Biomaterials. She also co-hosts The Curiosity Podcast and authored the “Chronicles of Illusions” novels.
• Monika Patel, Director, Communications and Marketing, Forest Stewardship Council Canada. For almost 15 years, Monika has worked in and advocated for a responsible approach to forestry and sustainable forest products through her work at FSC Canada.

Tovah, Phil, Naila and Monika will be joined by two members of the Samsung Canada team: Anna Lisa Prencipe, Head of Samsung Canada’s People Team and Tafari Jilany, Head of Corporate Marketing.

Judges will evaluate submissions from schools across the country, and pick the top five finalists in February 2023. From there, the finalists will receive dedicated mentorship to help refine their submissions. First place finalists will  receive a grand prize of $50,000, plus the honour of being named “The School of Tomorrow.” The second and third place finalist teams will each receive $10,000, and all five finalists will receive the opportunity to get a $5,000 voucher towards Samsung technology for their schools. In addition, as a new element this year, Samsung will invite Canadians to select their favourite submission through the new “People’s Choice Award” with the most popular team winning an additional $5,000.

Learn more about the Solve for Tomorrow Contest and apply today until February 15 at Samsung.com/ca/solve.

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[1] Terms and Conditions apply. The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest begins on Monday, November 27, 2023 at 12:01 a.m. EST and ends on May 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Open to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec residents) who are twenty one (21) years of age or older and are currently employed as full-time teachers in a public Middle School, Junior High School, or High School, grades 6-12, including Charter Schools that are 50% or more publicly funded in Canada. All Canadian publicly funded schools (except those registered and located in Québec) are eligible to participate. Schools that are publicly funded but outside of the provincially-run school board/district/division system, such as Charter Schools in Alberta and Federally-funded schools in FNMI communities, are eligible to apply if they meet the grade requirements. A full-time teacher, as defined above, is eligible to enter the Contest as part of a team with at least one (1) student or more up to a maximum of fifty (50) students (the “Participant”). The Contest is divided into two phases. Phase One requires teams to submit a written entry through the registration link on samsung.com/ca/solve between Monday, November 27, 2023 12:01 a.m. EST and Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Contest Entry Period”). Five (5) Finalist teams will be selected on or about  Friday, March 1. 2024 by a panel of six (6) qualified judges selected by Samsung based on the selection criteria stated in the full Contest Terms and Conditions. Odds of winning depend upon the total number of contest entries received during the Contest Entry Period. Each Finalist will receive a Samsung Voucher with a total value of up to $5,000 per team. During Phase Two, each Finalist team will be required to submit a video between Monday  , March 4, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. EST and Friday, April 5, , 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Final Judging Period”). All eligible submissions received will be judged by a panel of six (6) qualified judges selected by Samsung based on the criteria stated in the full Contest Terms and Conditions, and three (3) Winners will be selected. Odds of winning depend upon the total number of videos received during Phase Two. The three (3) Winners shall receive winning prizes consisting of the following elements based on their final place: First Place – $50,000 cash prize (by way of a cheque), Second Place $10,000 cash prize (by way of a cheque), Third Place – $10,000 cash prize (by way of a cheque). The videos of all five (5) Finalists will exhibited on samsung.com/ca/solve, and members of the general public will be permitted to vote on their favourite Finalist Entry. Voting will be open from Friday, April 12, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. EST and will close on Friday, April 26, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The Finalist who receives the most qualifying votes will be awarded a cash prize of $5,000 (by way of a cheque) All prizes will be made payable to the Participant’s school for use by the winning teacher. Must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question to win. For more information and a copy of the full Contest Terms and Conditions, visit samsung.com/ca/solve.