Thank you to our wonderful sponsors and supporters for making this project happen!
About STEM Next
Congratulations to all the students, who took part in STEM Next - Essay Competition 2025!
Missed the celebration? Don't worry, watch the recording below!
This essay competition was open to all students aged 16–18, with no subject prerequisites and was not limited to STEM topics. Whether you’re passionate about science, the arts, or the humanities, there’s something for everyone!
It’s a fantastic opportunity to develop valuable, transferable skills such as research, critical thinking, analysis, and communication - all of which are essential for future studies and careers. Participants could choose from three essay categories, each offering a variety of thought-provoking questions to suit different interests. This was an independent project, involving self-directed research and writing. However, students were encouraged to seek feedback from teachers or peers before submitting their final work.
Category Winners:
1) Energy & Innovation
1st place winner: Vikrant Shetty Tomar, India | 2nd place winner: Maximilian Newlands, England | 3rd place winner: Ishan Garg, India
2) Medicine & Psychology
1st place winner: Yeva Kolobova, England | 2nd place winner: Ariane Edwards, England | 3rd place winner: Sanvi Krishnan, USA
3) Chemistry & Biological Sciences
1st place winner: Louie Francis, England | 2nd place winner: Hana Ahmed, Bahrain | 3rd place winner: Serah Abraham, England
Congratulations to all the winners!
Interested in STEM Next 2026?
Taking part in STEM Next competition is a brilliant opportunity for students to add additional achievements to their UCAS application. In addition, participating students are eligible for CREST Awards. Prizes, for STEM Next 2026 will be confirmed later.
If you have any questions about STEM Next, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Watch STEM Next student highlights from previous years:
A massive thank you to STEM Next 2025 project sponsors and supporters
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Applications are closed.
For any queries contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In partnership with the British Science Association, TechFest is working with schools to run a Machines of the Future Discovery Day event. TechFest will provide online teacher training to ensure that the participating teachers have everything they require to run the event in school. In addition, participating schools can apply for up to £500 funding to cover overhead costs (printing, paper, pens, etc.) and, as the project is sponsored by the British Science Association, each students Discovery Day CREST award will be paid for.
The Discovery Day project is aimed towards pupils from P6 up to S2.
This is a great project to introduce pupils at an early age to machine learning which is used in everyday life. The 5 hour project is made up of 3 workshops and includes a challenge where students get the opportunity to work in a group together to design a household product which uses machine learning.
1) Would you trust a machine? - students will sort out different potential machine learning jobs based on their usefulness and how much they would trust a machine to do the job.
2) Machine Learning now - students will look at video case studies, investigating how machine learning works in a real-life context, how different data and sourced are used in AI systems, and illustrating how these tools use machine learning.
3) Teach a Machine - in groups students experiment with machine learning using a range of different AI powered tools.
Challenge - Students will work in groups to research and plan to design a household product with the opportunity to present their work at the end of the Discovery Day.
Watch below a video of Professor Brian Cox explaining why this a great opportunity for schools to get involved with and to get a real feel for the project.
Disclaimer: Limited number of places available, applications not guaranteed.
For enquiries and how to sign up please contact Kirsty Cranna on email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information visit the Machines of the Futures materials which are available on the CREST website.
