On 24–25 October 2026, the Global Finals of the 9th Global Competition on Design for Futures (GCD4F) took place at the Changping Campus of Beijing Normal University (BNU), China. The ninth edition of the annual competition, co-organised by BNU and UNESCO IITE with the support of partner organisations, was launched in January 2026. Young people were invited to explore how design thinking and artificial intelligence (AI) could be applied to address real-world challenges across three themes: AI for Science, AI for Education and AI for Society. Eighteen teams from different countries were selected to participate in the Global Finals.
During the project development stage, participants were provided with an AI-powered design platform featuring a tool for assessing how effectively their proposed solutions addressed the identified problems. The platform enabled teams to clarify the problems they were seeking to solve, structure their ideas and progressively refine their proposed solutions. It also included AI consultation and team communication functions, allowing participants to receive AI-generated recommendations and share their project outcomes. In addition, through a peer-review mechanism, participants evaluated one another’s projects and selected the winners of the Most Popular Award.
The competition also featured an innovative AI-based project evaluation system designed to simulate the perspectives of different stakeholders. Using materials submitted by the teams, the system analysed the projects from the perspectives of teachers, students and parents, assessing their innovativeness, feasibility and social value.
The international jury for the Global Finals comprised five experts in education, design and technology: Prof Asha Singh Kanwar, former Chair of the UNESCO IITE Governing Board and External Expert at BNU; Mr Song Weizu, founder of the Beijing Design Society; Dr Joy Chen, Senior Advisor for Corporate Partnerships at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning; Ms Elizabeth K. Colucci, Director of Education Policy and Programmes at OBREAL Global; and Dr Svetlana Knyazeva, Chief of Unit of Digital Pedagogy and Learning Materials and Senior National Project Officer in Education at UNESCO IITE.
The jury evaluated the projects against several criteria: understanding of the problem, innovation, the use of technology for social good, potential for practical application, and the quality and clarity of the presentation. Jury members also provided expert feedback on the use of AI, the feasibility of the proposed solutions, consideration of user needs and the social value of the projects. They commended the participants’ creative thinking and the practical outcomes of their work.
The jury presented one Gold Award, two Silver Awards and three Bronze Awards, as well as awards for creativity, outstanding design, outstanding technological innovation and practical implementation.
The Gold Award went to MERA (Medical Evaluation and Robotic Assistance), a project developed by students from the National Advanced School of Engineering of Douala, Cameroon. In response to the challenge of improving access to basic healthcare in resource-constrained areas, the team developed a robotic solution that uses AI to collect and analyse patient data in real time, identify potential anomalies and alert healthcare professionals to cases requiring further attention.
Through its joint organisation of the Global Competition on Design for Futures with BNU, UNESCO IITE contributes to the development of an international platform that enables young people to create innovative solutions to pressing challenges in science, education and social development, and to consider how AI and emerging technologies can be used for good.
