BIEA youth STEM finalists in London take on food waste

Young innovators from 33 teams across multiple countries gathered in London for BIEA’s 2026 STEM Youth Innovation Competition Grand Final, where students presented STEM solutions to food waste. The event highlighted international collaboration, practical problem-solving and BIEA’s next challenge for 2027.

Why it matters: - The competition gives children and teens a public stage to turn STEM learning into solutions for a global sustainability problem. - Food waste affects households, supply chains and climate goals, so student ideas on monitoring, preservation and reuse have real-world relevance. - BIEA used the London final to connect young people from different countries and show how international collaboration can shape future problem-solvers.

What happened: - BIEA hosted the STEM Youth Innovation Competition 2026 Grand Final & Showcase at Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant & Castle, London. - The in-person final brought together 33 teams from the UK, Turkey, China, Macao, Oman, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, along with other international participants. - Students ages 6 to 18 competed under the theme Reducing Food Waste. - The event included team showcases, project judging, student interviews, a live challenge and an awards ceremony. - Judges and visitors spoke directly with students about their ideas, prototypes and research process.

The details: - Student projects ranged from smart food-waste monitoring systems and preservation technologies to circular-economy approaches that use food by-products. - Award-winning teams included MyCel from Malaysia, EcoShield from South Korea and Citra Sense Pack from Turkey. - High-achieving Saudi student teams presented solutions tied to food preservation, waste analysis and technology-enabled food-waste reduction. - Team Fresh Trackers won The Peers Award, which participants voted on. - Nikki Collins, CEO of BIEA, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Hanafi Ahmad Damanhuri, representing the Malaysian High Commission in London, presented the top awards. - Dr Alex Holmes, head of STEM at BIEA, said the 2026 competition showed a strong level of experimental thinking and projects that tested practical ideas. - BIEA said the competition is its annual flagship STEM programme and is designed to inspire young people to apply scientific thinking to real-world challenges. - Previous themes have included protecting endangered animals with drone technology, saving coastlines, tackling plastic pollution, designing sustainable cities and reducing food waste. - More information is available in the competition information.

Between the lines: - The project mix suggests BIEA is rewarding not just polished concepts, but hands-on experimentation and applied science. - The range of countries and cultural perspectives points to a competition model built around global education diplomacy as much as student innovation. - London’s role as host reinforces its value as a convening point for international youth, educators, scientists and sustainability partners.

What's next: - BIEA announced the 2027 theme: Fish Forward: A Challenge to End Overfishing. - Students will be invited to explore ways to reduce bycatch, fight illegal fishing and support more sustainable aquaculture. - BIEA plans to continue using STEM challenges to encourage young people to address urgent environmental problems. - The next competition will build on the organization’s focus on sustainability, youth voice and international collaboration.

The bottom line: - BIEA’s London final showed that young students can produce practical, globally minded STEM ideas for a problem that touches every community.