NFTE’s purpose is to lead the global movement for equitable access to entrepreneurship education and ignite the entrepreneurial mindset to empower students to own their futures.
The World Series of Innovation has three primary objectives:
1. Global Awareness of Entrepreneurship as the Driver of Innovation
2. Activation of the Entrepreneurial Mindset
3. Workforce Readiness
Each year NFTE hosts several challenges from September-December that students can enter, as well as global Innovation Day coaching sessions to support the development of their idea. Students, working in teams up to 4 members, register and submit their ideas via a free, open-to-all, online platform. As part of their submission, students must identify their target customer, explain the customer problem, their business idea and business model. Here is a video explaining how to participate: https://vimeo.com/358664416
Winning teams in each challenge category receive prizes. The winning teams can be found on the winners tab (https://innovation.nfte.com/results)
Innovation Days
- NFTE works with Innovation Partners to bring half-day ideation opportunities to their communities.
-Volunteer innovation coaches support students as they build their competition submissions, providing relevant and real-life workforce experience.
-Volunteer judges select Top 3 winners after 2 rounds of judging
To date, the World Series of Innovation (WSI) has engaged over 56,000 young people worldwide, with 15,174 innovations submitted and 328 Innovation Days hosted. Recognized in HundrED's Global Collection and as a WEF Education 4.0 Lighthouse, WSI saw a 43% participation increase last year. In 2024, we launched the Imagination League for students ages 5 to 12, reaching 1,161 students globally.
WSI also grew international volunteerism, with 1,300+ coaches and judges in the 2024-25 cycle. We have expanded accessibility, offering translations in English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, and Simplified Chinese, with plans for Portuguese and French pending funding. As we grow, we remain committed to fostering innovation and creativity worldwide.
As a student or educator, you can visit the WSI site to explore the innovation challenges - https://innovation.nfte.com/challenges.
Educators and organizations looking to implement this program with their students should reach out to wsi@nfte.com to explore how they can become an Innovation Partner to bring Innovation Days to their community.
