ArcticNext2025: Student Innovation Challenge to Tackle Northern Issues

Memorial University, in partnership with Nord University, will host ArcticNext2025: Student Innovation Challenge, a three-day event focused on student-driven solutions for strengthening Arctic communities.

Taking place from September 26–28, 2025, the challenge will bring together undergraduate and graduate students to develop ideas under the theme Sustainable & Thriving Communities. Sub-themes include Transportation and Infrastructure, Emerging and Space Technologies, Arts, Culture and Tourism, and Health and Wellness.

Over the course of the weekend, participants will work in teams, take part in workshops, receive mentorship, and pitch their final projects. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams: $4,000 for first place, $2,500 for second, and $1,500 for third.

Organized through the YoungArctic Project with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, project partners, including Nord University, UArctic, International Arctic Social Sciences Association, Memorial University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Centre for Social Enterprise, and the Student Design Hub, are piloting ArcticNext2025 to underscore the role of student innovation and collaboration in addressing pressing social, economic, environmental, and cultural challenges in the North.

The impact of ArcticNext2025 extends well beyond the student teams themselves. Through focusing on themes such as infrastructure, health, culture, and emerging technologies, the challenge encourages practical solutions to issues that Northern and Arctic communities face every day. It builds local capacity by equipping students with entrepreneurial and leadership skills while fostering international collaboration between Canada and Norway. Most importantly, the event amplifies youth voices in shaping sustainable futures for the North, ensuring that innovation reflects community priorities and contributes to long-term social, cultural, and economic resilience.