100 Schools Named State Winners in Samsung’s $2 Million Competition for Identifying Top Issues to Solve Using STEM

Food Insecurity, Climate Change and Energy Conservation are among the issues students will address in the 12th Annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced the 100 State Winners in the 12^th annual $2 million* Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, a nationwide education competition that challenges 6-12^th grade students and their teachers to creatively use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills to tackle local issues of national importance while keeping sustainability in mind.

Selected from a pool of applicants from across the U.S., State Winners – including at least one school from each state – have been recognized for their creative and strategic proposals to solve current issues that impact their communities, such as school safety and climate change. Each State Winner will be awarded $6,500 to be redeemed on DonorsChoose.org along with a video kit to help them with the next phase of the contest. Staying true to their sustainability commitment, Samsung will encourage schools to select Samsung Energy Star products as part of their prize packages.

“Empowered and inspired to elicit change, Gen Z students are catalysts for making the world a better place. It is truly an honor to watch students from across the country channel this passion and drive into the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest to address problems in their community head-on,” said Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “As change agents for the future, this year’s State Winners are taking action to create tangible solutions that address a wide-range of important issues impacting their generation.”

In addition to receiving $6,500 to be redeemed on DonorsChoose.org as well as a video kit, State Winners will also have the opportunity to work with a Samsung employee mentor as they prepare for the next phase of the contest. In this phase, State Winner schools will record a video to showcase their project and have the potential to advance through future phases of the contest to win additional prizes and educational opportunities.

In the spring, 10 National Finalist Schools will be selected to participate in the pitch event where they will present their project to a panel of judges. For achieving National Finalist status, seven of these schools will be awarded $50,000 in technology and supplies while the remaining three will be named National Winners. Of the top ten schools, three National Winner schools will each receive $100,000 in classroom technology and supplies. Of the top ten schools, one Community Choice Winner will also be determined through online public voting and will be eligible to win an additional $10,000 in Samsung technology, as well as one Employee Choice Winner determined by Samsung employee voting to win an additional $10,000.

For the first time, Samsung has partnered with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) for the Solve for Tomorrow Sustainability Innovation award, furthering Samsung’s commitment to sustainability. One Environmental Sustainability winner will be chosen by a committee of judges to win a $10,000 energy efficient Samsung technology prize package of products to help bring their project idea to life. This year’s applicants are encouraged to use responsibly sourced materials in their prototypes and align their project ideas with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The judging rubric for this year’s contest also includes a component that evaluates factors such as environmental sustainability innovation and how to sustain the project idea over time.

As part of Samsung’s guiding vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Solve for Tomorrow launched in 2010 to encourage innovative thinking, creative problem-solving and teamwork to address the most pressing issues impacting society. Today, the competition fosters critical thinking and creative problem solving, anchored in problem-based learning. For the past decade, Samsung has awarded $20 million in technology and classroom materials to more than 2,500 public schools in the United States.

For a full list of State Winner  schools, please visit www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow or follow on Instagram @SolveForTomorrow. For official rules and judging criteria, click here.

*$2 million prize is based on an estimated retail value.