02How it works
Register to Grand Finale, in six stages
Prodigy Ideathon is a three-round championship. A school registers, its teams work through five steps of reasoning, and every team pitches on campus before advancing toward the inter-school Grand Finale.
How does Prodigy Ideathon work?
A school registers first, then fields a minimum of 30 teams of 2–4 students from Classes 9–12. Each team picks one of six challenge themes and builds a solution deck in the prescribed Prodigy format. Every team presents a 3-minute pitch with 2 minutes of Q&A at the School Pitching Round, held on the school's own campus. The top 3 teams per panel reach the School Finale; each school's top 3 teams then qualify for the inter-school Grand Finale, judged by the Grand Jury.
01 The competition flow
Six stages
- 01
Register
The school registers first. Teams of 2–4 students from Classes 9–12 then register through the official school-issued form. A school fields a minimum of 30 teams to be eligible to host its School Round.
- 02
Select a theme
Each team chooses one of the six challenge pathways, including Open Impact. The theme sets the territory; the team chooses the specific problem.
- 03
Build the solution deck
Teams follow the official Prodigy Ideathon pitch-deck structure so every presentation stays comparable and complete: Problem, Why it matters, Innovation, Solution, Impact & feasibility.
- 04
School Pitching Round
All registered teams present on their own campus. Multiple judging panels may run in parallel depending on the number of teams. Teams are called from class in controlled batches so the timetable keeps running.
- 05
School Finale
The top 3 teams from each judging panel advance. A combined panel coordinated by Tera Compute decides the School Champion, Runner-Up and Third Place.
- 06
Grand Finale
The top 3 teams from every participating school qualify. The Grand Jury determines the overall Champion, Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up of Prodigy Ideathon.
02 The student journey
Five steps every team defends
Teams are not asked to arrive with an idea. They work this sequence in order and present the reasoning behind each step.
- 01
Identify Spot a real problem
Start from something you have actually seen — not a topic handed to you. Name who it affects and how often.
- 02
Research Understand why it matters
Talk to the people affected. Find the numbers. Separate the symptom from the cause, and your assumptions from the evidence.
- 03
Ideate Invent a response
Generate more than one answer. Pressure-test each against cost, effort and whether anyone would actually use it.
- 04
Design Shape the solution
Turn the idea into something concrete: how it works, what it needs, who runs it, and what changes because of it.
- 05
Pitch Defend the case
Present the reasoning in the Prodigy pitch-deck format and answer the judges. A physical prototype is not required.
03 The pitch-deck format
One structure, so every pitch is comparable
Every team submits its solution deck in the prescribed Prodigy Ideathon format. The template is shared with participating schools.
- 1
The Problem
How important is the problem, and who is affected?
- 2
Why It Matters
What is the context and the urgency?
- 3
The Innovation
What is new, original or differentiated here?
- 4
The Solution
How effectively and feasibly does it solve the problem?
- 5
Impact & Feasibility
What measurable, scalable difference could it make?
04 Judging & scoring
Fair, structured, transparent
Every judge scores independently against the same 50-mark rubric. Judges’ decisions are final.
| Criterion | Marks | What judges assess |
|---|---|---|
| Problem | 10 | How clearly does the team understand the problem, the users affected and its significance? |
| Innovation | 10 | How original, creative or differentiated is the proposed approach? |
| Solution | 10 | How effectively and feasibly does the proposed solution address the problem? |
| Impact | 10 | What meaningful and scalable impact could the solution create? |
| Presentation | 10 | How clearly, logically and confidently does the team communicate and defend the idea? |
| Total score | 50 | Tie-break order: Higher Solution score → Higher Impact score → Jury deliberation |
Judging panels by round
- School Round 1 school-nominated judge + 1 Tera Compute judge One or more panels operate in parallel depending on the number of registered teams.
- School Finale Combined judging panel Coordinated by Tera Compute. Shortlisted teams are evaluated together using the same rubric.
- Grand Finale Grand Jury panel Coordinated by Tera Compute. Determines the Champion, Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up.
Tie-break: Higher Solution score → Higher Impact score → Jury deliberation
05 Core participation rules
What every team agrees to
- Eligibility: Classes 9–12, participating through their school.
- Team size: 2–4 students.
- A school fields a minimum of 30 teams to be eligible to host its School Round.
- Every team submits its solution deck in the prescribed Prodigy Ideathon format.
- Teams present within the allotted time and must be available for Q&A.
- Ideas must be original and appropriately attributed.
- AI tools may be used as permitted by the official rules; teams remain responsible for the accuracy, originality and understanding of their submission.
- Plagiarism or deliberate misrepresentation may lead to disqualification.
- Every judge scores independently. Judges’ decisions are final.
Full participation rules are published on the Participation Rules page.
06 Operational design
Batch-wise calling keeps the timetable running
Teams are called from class in controlled batches — for example, five teams at a time. They complete their pitching slots and return to class before the next batch is called, so the school day keeps running normally.
The school provides
A venue and designated pitching space · one school-nominated judge · student participation and coordination.
Tera Compute provides
The competition framework and external judge · the pitch-deck format and judging rubric · certificates, the Grand Finale pathway and two expert-led workshops.
Take part
Bring the challenge to your campus
The School Round runs on your own campus, with batch-wise calling so classes keep running. Register to get the rulebook, template and next steps.