The Pymble Institute is excited to announce the launch of a new academic competition for Secondary students around the world.

Speak to the Future: Global Youth Essay Prize promotes critical thinking amongst young people who are keen to put their minds to the big questions about AI technologies in relation to creativity, cognition, the future of work, health and learning.

The essay competition is an initiative of the Pymble Institute at Pymble Ladies’ College, Sydney, Australia.

Register now to enter

What is involved?

Writing an essay is an important skill, but research and speaking about what you have learned are important, too. This competition involves all three:

  • Research phase: Select your topic and begin researching, with the option of using AI to assist.
  • Writing phase: Draft, then edit your essay without using AI.
  • Speaking phase: Selected finalists will speak to the judging panel about your topic and what you’ve learned about AI through this process.

Who can enter?

This competition is for enrolled Secondary school students and home-schooled students aged between 13 and 18 years old. The Junior division is for those 13 to 15 years old and the Senior division is for those 16 to 18 years old.

Why should you enter?

  1. Most competitions ban AI outright. We are asking students to use it in research and then reflect on it.
  2. Cash prizes up to AUD $800, medals, publication, all within a global field.
  3. This is your chance to contribute to the conversation around AI.

 

Key dates

15 February 2027: Competition opens and research phase begins.

15 March 2027: Essay question is released to participants.

4 April 2027: Deadline for essay submissions.

12 May 2027: Finalists notified and interview stage begins.

June 2027: Winners announced.

Junior Age Division

Ages 13-15 years (at the essay submission deadline)

Word limit

  • 700 words (maximum), including excerpts from the research journal but not including references/bibliography

Prizes

  • Winner: $600 AUD + Gold Medal + Certificate (essay published on the Pymble Institute website)
  • Runner-up: $400 AUD + Silver Medal + Certificate (essay published on the Pymble Institute website)
  • Highly Commended: Bronze Medal + Certificate
  • All entrants: Certificate

Senior Age Division

Ages 16-18 years (at the essay submission deadline)

Word limit

  • 900 words (maximum), including excerpts from the research journal but not including references/bibliography

Prizes

  • Winner: $800 AUD + Gold Medal + Certificate (essay published on the Pymble Institute website)
  • Runner-up: $600 AUD + Silver Medal + Certificate (essay published on the Pymble Institute website)
  • Highly Commended: Bronze Medal + Certificate
  • All entrants: Certificate

The essay question to which all entrants must respond has not yet been released.

Check back on 15 March 2027 to find out what it is.

Ready, set, go – you have three weeks!

  • Once the essay question is released on 15 March 2027, you have three weeks to write your essay.
  • Apply your chosen topic to the question and write it yourself without AI.
  • You may quote your research journal, including AI-generated text, as long as you put it in quotation marks and include the date you first wrote it.
  • References and a bibliography are encouraged and do not count towards the word limit.
  • Quotes from your research journal contribute to your word count.
  • Essays can be written in the first person and take a personal approach, or they can be more formal. Either way, we’d like to hear your personality and voice coming through.

Start your research

  1. Select one of the following topic areas: Creativity, Cognition, Future of Work, Health or Learning. In the month before the essay question is released, use AI tools and your own initiative to investigate your chosen topic area.
  2. When the essay question is released on 15 March, use your research into your chosen topic and entries from your Research Journal to write your essay and answer the essay question.

  • Creativity

    Is AI a collaborator or the owner of creative work (music, art, writing, film)? What features push it into either category?

    Originality and authorship — can something be “yours” if AI helped make it?

    What is AI’s effect on creative industries and the livelihoods of working artists?

    Where is the boundary between inspiration and imitation when AI is trained on existing work?

    Can you find any current cases where AI, academic integrity, plagiarism and ownership are being tested?

    What other sub-topics can you add?

  • Cognition

    How is outsourcing our thinking to AI changing thinking habits?

    Is AI affecting our ability to evaluate what’s true?

    What are humans gaining and losing by problem solving with AI assistance?

    Is AI use changing the way people think about their own thinking?

    What other technologies have impacted the way humans think? Is AI unique in its impact?

    What other sub-topics can you add?

  • Future of work

    Which jobs are most exposed to AI disruption and which are more resilient?

    Is this pattern the same around the world or are different countries affected in different ways?

    What new jobs is AI creating that didn’t exist a decade ago?

    What skills should young people should build now for a workforce shaped by AI?

    What school subjects, styles of learning and assessment should schools offer to help prepare students for AI in their future workplaces?

    AI provides many tools which allow people to do work faster. Does this mean there will be more leisure time in the future?

    What other sub-topics can you add?

  • Health

    How is AI being used in diagnosis and treatment for medical conditions?

    What issues are arising with accuracy and trust?

    Are mental health chatbots and AI companionship game changers in terms of loneliness, dementia and reducing risk?

    Can sensitive data be kept private in AI-driven healthcare?

    Will humans have a better quality of life with more AI around us?

    What role will AI play in terms of modelling the spread of disease and providing early warning systems?

    What other sub-topics can you add?

  • Learning 

    Can AI provide homework support and personalised tutoring to support every learner?

    How are schools and school systems around the world rethinking assessment in an AI world?

    Does AI close or widen the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students?

    Can AI play a role in encouraging us to learn languages?

    Will AI one day replace teachers?

    What other sub-topics can you add?

What will the judges reward?

The judges are looking for how deeply you think about AI in relation to your chosen topic, how much you provoke thought in the judges, and how convincing you are in communicating your ideas.

  • intellectual experimentation and innovative thinking about your topic and its relationship to AI and humans academic skills, including referencing
  • accurate record keeping, such as using information from your research journal and other sources
  • honesty, innovation and vulnerability in reflection about your topic and how AI is impacting human life and the planet
  • the ability to communicate passionately, persuasively and consistently.

Submitting your essay

Essays are due by 11:59pm AEST, Sunday 4 April 2027 (Sydney, Australia time). Check what this means in your own time zone. For example, this is 8:00am UTC / 4:00am EDT (US Eastern) / 1:00am PDT (US Pacific) on the same day.

Essays must be in English and be within the word limit for the age category.
You will need the email address of your parent/carer to complete your entry.

Your parent/carer will receive an email from us with the terms and conditions of the competition. They MUST read and accept the terms and conditions before your entry can progress to judging. If you are 18, you will receive this email and accept the terms and conditions yourself.

Enter now

View full Terms and Conditions here.

Where can I use AI in this competition?

You can use AI in the research phase. These experiments might end up expanding your research or you might learn new skills, better organise your time or re-frame your thinking. You can’t use AI to write, draft, rewrite, paraphrase or edit the essay you submit – that needs to be human-written. However, your essay can include excerpts/direct quotes from your research journal to show how and where you’ve been experimenting with AI.

Researching AI use

Alongside the competition, the Pymble Institute is running a research project to understand how secondary students around the world are using AI, what issues they are noticing, and how their thinking is developing. Much research about AI in education leaves out school students and we think your voice matters. After you submit your essay, your parent or guardian will be invited to give consent for you to take part in a short, anonymous online survey. This is optional and has no effect on how your essay is judged. Your insights will inform a report that students, teachers and researchers everywhere can use.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What do I do in the research stage?

    Research your topic. Use some or all of the suggested research questions. 

    • Try different ways of searching the internet and prompting AI.
    • Brainstorm different key words.
    • Consider your topic from different perspectives, parts of the world, cultural lens’.
    • Ask staff at your school or local library for help and see if you can find relevant material in books and online databases. Is there a difference to your research journey when you ask librarians and teachers for help?
    • Hold discussions with other people. Does this help your critical thinking?

     

    We want you to research with AI. 

    • Experiment with different AI tools in your research and consider what makes them easy to use, effective and/or misleading. What happens when you put the same prompt into different tools?
    • Does AI expand your critical thinking about your topic, or narrow it? Why is this?
      Notice the AI summaries. Do they help or limit you?
    • Can prompting encourage you to explore areas you had not considered or not known about? In what ways is this different to a search engine like Google?

     

    Keep a reflective research journal

    • Keep a research journal or keep your notes in a notebook or in a document on your computer.
    • Ask yourself questions about your research – what are you finding the most interesting, what is challenging, what is expanding your mind, what is helping you be courageous in your research?
    • How is your learning in this project contributing to learning in other parts of your life?

  • Why is the research stage so important? Can’t I just start writing my essay?

    Research is a key skill which can go unnoticed in essay competitions. We’ve provided a dedicated phase for research so you don’t need to feel rushed, and we’ve also give suggestions so you can broaden your skills. We hope you enjoy the journey as well as the destination!

We have some tips for you!

  • Download one of our beautiful and inspiring research journals to map your investigation. [ADD LINK]
  • Check the AI access rules relating to your own country and for your age.
  • Does your school have AI tools have been designed for use by children. Some schools are developing their own bots. What do you think of them? How do they compare to more well known tools?
  • Do you need help referencing, making a reference list, compiling a bibliography? Ask your school librarian or follow the referencing guidelines you use at school.