XPRIZE

THE CHALLENGE
Is elite scientific innovation something everyone – even high school students – can lead?

XPRIZE designs and operates large scale incentive competitions between global innovators to achieve breakthroughs that accelerate an abundant and equitable future for all. However, the most well-resourced spaces in science and technology are also the most exclusive, requiring the organization to be forward-thinking in its equity approach. XPRIZE worked with Friday to answer a question that involves radical trust in humanity’s potential: can teenagers define the world’s greatest problems?

THE SOLUTION
Master-level tools and autonomy turn student ambition into breakthrough innovation.

Friday led a program design process that resulted in the XPRIZE Connect DEFINE experience, a youth program challenging participants to identify and define the world’s biggest barriers and imagine their breakthroughs. Using student focus groups, workshops with core members of the XPRIZE Prize Design team, and the latest in design thinking, Friday and XPRIZE collaboratively developed the content and sequence of instruction for a 8-week afterschool program that guided students to develop their own groundbreaking prize ideas. Friday applied student-centered learning design to deliver this community-driven curriculum on a highly collaborative digital platform. By giving students hands-on training in genius-level problem definition, DEFINE equipped them with the tools and trust needed to play an active role in shaping their futures.