15 AI Competitions for High School Students

If you are a high schooler who is curious about emerging tech, an AI competition is worth considering. A competitive experience can help you learn about the role of artificial intelligence in various areas and come up with your own solutions to real problems in tech. You may submit AI-focused research, models, essays, or technical solutions that will be judged by experienced professionals in tech. Most competitions are open-entry and may include prizes, scholarships, rankings, or publication opportunities, helping you boost your profile! Not just winning, even participating in competitions can serve as proof of your technical ability and intellectual curiosity, helping you stand out when you apply to colleges later. 

What do AI competitions for high school students include?

AI competitions let you work with datasets and use tools like Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and scikit-learn to come up with models, tools, plans, and products that address complex problems. These competitions commonly require you to spend time training supervised learning models for classification and regression, working extensively with datasets through cleaning, feature engineering, and normalization, and implementing neural networks such as CNNs for image data and RNNs or transformers for text. 

Some competitions incorporate areas like natural language processing, including tokenization, sentiment analysis, and LLM fine-tuning, along with computer vision tasks such as image classification and object detection, and even reinforcement learning environments. Many also focus on ethical AI considerations, including bias detection and fairness constraints. Through these challenges, you will develop problem-solving skills and learn how to work under tight time constraints.

To help you find the right opportunity, we have put together a list of 15 AI competitions for high school students.

If you are also looking for AI-focused learning opportunities, check out our list of AI programs here. You can additionally check out our broader list of academic competitions here.

1. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF) 

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ; sites can vary by year
Cost/Prizes: Free to compete; cash prizes of $600 – $100,000 + tuition scholarships, internships, field trips, and lab equipment available
Competition dates: May 9 – 15 (final event)
Registration deadline: Varies; local, regional, and state-affiliated fairs take place throughout the year, but all conclude by mid-April.
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 – 12 who have competed in and won the right to attend through a Regeneron ISEF-affiliated science fair

Regeneron ISEF is an international science fair where high school students present original research projects and compete across 22 scientific categories. To get here, you will first need to enter a local or regional affiliated science fair and qualify. Affiliated fairs exist in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 75 countries, regions, and territories. The competition requires you to conduct scientific research, which must be original work completed within the 12 months prior to the competition. Your project can focus on questions within AI/ML. Each project is judged at least four times by roughly 1,000 science, engineering, and industry professionals, all of whom hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree and/or six years of relevant experience. The event week includes a Grand Awards Ceremony where top winners will be announced.

2. Presidential AI Challenge

Location: State and regional rounds are virtual; national finals are in Washington, D.C.
Cost/Prizes: Free to enter; national champions receive a President’s Award certificate, gift cards and cloud credits, and $10,000/team member for middle and high school youth categories, and $10,000 for the school or community group in the elementary category.
Competition dates: Project submissions: January 20; Regional Championship: March 27 – April 13 (one day per region); National Championships: June
Registration deadline: January 20
Eligibility: K–12 students participating in teams of 1–4 students with a supervising adult; educators may also compete as a separate category. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or lawful permanent residents.

The Presidential AI Challenge is a free, national competition where you create an AI-based project that addresses a real problem in your community. You can participate as an individual or on a team of up to four students, along with a supervising adult. The competition is structured in three tiers: state, regional, and national, with state champions advancing to regional rounds held virtually, and top regional champions invited to Washington, D.C. for the national finals. At the national level, selected regional champions present their projects at a White House showcase. Entering the competitive track is optional; you can also participate just to complete the challenge without competing for prizes.

3. AI Challenge National AI Competition for Students

Location: Online
Cost/Prizes: Free to enter; prizes include trophies, cash prizes, certificates, and other resources.
Competition dates: Registration Window: November – March; Phase 1 (MCQ Assessment): April; Phase 2 (Challenge Round): June; Finals and Awards: July
Registration deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Students in grades 1–12

AI Challenge is a national competition where students from grades 1 through 12 build and present projects using artificial intelligence. The competition is designed to get you thinking about how AI can be used to solve real problems and spark your interest in the field. In the track meant for high school students, you will build real AI models using Python libraries and work with intelligent applications using Streamlit and LLMs. In the process, you will explore data manipulation, regression, and classification using Scikit-learn, prompt engineering for LLMs, app-building, and data science. You will start with MCQ tests, and then move on to a challenge. You will develop full AI applications, implement ML models, and explore real-world use cases, focusing on responsible AI practices. You will present your work to judges and compete for cash prizes, mentorship opportunities, trophies, and other prizes alongside thousands of other students across the country.

4. STEM Fellowship’s National High School Data Analysis and AI Challenge

STEM Fellowship, a Canadian nonprofit, runs this interdisciplinary research competition designed to help you use computational thinking and open science methodologies to solve societal problems. You will source and clean open-access datasets and use industry-standard AI tools to analyze variables focused on a specific annual theme, such as sustainable development or public health. Then, you will explore the rigors of the formal research cycle, including working on developing a peer-reviewed manuscript and designing a digital research poster. The challenge concludes with a national symposium where you will learn to distill complex data findings into a three-minute thesis (3MT) presentation for a panel of experts. Upon completing this challenge, you will gain exposure to the STEM Fellowship Journal publication process and even get your analytical work published.

5. World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY)

Location: Remote
Cost/Prizes: Not specified
Competition dates: Not specified
Registration deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Students, ages 6 – 18, from any country; individual or team participation (teams of 3 – 5 recommended)

WAICY is a global AI competition where you can create a project using artificial intelligence and submit it for judging alongside students from around the world. You will choose from four tracks: building an AI solution for a real-world problem, creating AI-generated artwork, working with large language models like ChatGPT, or producing an AI-generated video. You can enter solo or with a team. The competition is fully remote, so you can participate from anywhere. Past winning projects have included apps that detect face masks, tools to help visually impaired people navigate, and AI systems that analyze pain in lab animals.

6. Apex AI High School Championship

Location: Online
Cost/Prizes: Free; over $50,000 in scholarships and prizes, including tech gear, campus essentials, and cash awards
Competition dates: Team Formation: June 8 – 12; Championship Kick-off: June 13; Qualifying Round: June 13 – 22; Championship Finals (top 10 teams): June 27
Registration deadline: Rolling admissions with deadlines in August, November, and February.
Eligibility: U.S. high school students, ages 14 and up; no prior AI or programming experience required

The Apex AI High School Championship is a free, fully online competition where you learn AI skills and then put them to the test against other high school students across the country. After applying, you will get access to guided training in AI tools and programming using Python, Rust, or Java. The qualifying round is self-paced, so you can work on it in your own time. Based on the performance in this round, the top 10 teams advance to a full-day virtual championship finals. All participants earn a certificate recognized by top universities, which can be added to college applications and resumes. You can apply solo or with peers from school.

7. USAII’s Global AI Hackathon

Location: Virtual
Cost/Prizes: Free to participate; prize pool of $15,000+ in cash prizes and USAII AI certification scholarships + certificates + digital badges available
Competition dates: Readiness Qualifier: June 7 – 10; Hackathon Build: June 14 – 21; Judging: June 22 – 25; Global Showcase and awards: June 27

Registration deadline: Registration + team formation window: April 26 – June 6
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students worldwide

The United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII) Global AI Hackathon is a free, one-week virtual competition where you will work within a team to build an AI project that addresses a real-world problem. There are separate tracks for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, each with its own theme; high schoolers work on challenges related to community, learning, and the environment. Before the hackathon begins, you can take self-paced AI Bootcamps to build your skills and get familiar with the tools. You will also complete an AI Thinking Assessment during the Qualifier phase to confirm you are ready before the build week starts. The event wraps up with a livestreamed global showcase where winning teams are announced and recognized.

8. ISTE+ASCD AI Innovator Challenge

Location: Virtual competition; final showcase at ISTELive, Orlando, FL (site can vary by year)
Cost/Prizes: Free to participate; winners will get their work published on the AI Innovator Studio website, and the top three teams will be invited to present at ISTELive (travel is covered for finalists)
Competition dates: Challenge launch: January 9; Final submission: March 13; Announcement of winners: April; Showcase: June/July
Registration deadline: March 13
Eligibility: High school students; students must apply in teams of up to three high school students accompanied by a teacher sponsor

The AI Innovator Challenge is a global competition that lets you work in a small team to design a project using artificial intelligence to solve a real-world problem. You will focus on creating a digital product that promotes responsible, ethical, and inclusive use of AI, often tied to themes like digital citizenship and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. During the competition, you will move from idea development to prototyping and finally submit a project along with a pitch explaining your solution. Your work will be evaluated on factors like innovation, impact, and responsible AI use by industry experts and educators. If selected as a finalist, you will get to present your project on an international stage at ISTELive. The experience is structured to help you build practical AI skills while thinking critically about how technology affects people and communities.

9. VEX AI Robotics Competition

Location: Online + in-person regional events and world championship (sites vary)
Cost/Prizes: Team registration starts at $200 (additional teams are discounted); awards and qualification to the VEX Robotics World Championship are offered as prizes.
Competition dates: Year-round season culminating at the VEX Robotics World Championship in April
Registration deadline: Varies by event and region
Eligibility: High school and college students applying in teams

The VEX AI Robotics Competition is an advanced robotics challenge where you will design, build, and program two autonomous robots that work together in a game-based environment. Here, you will rely heavily on artificial intelligence and sensor systems to control your robots without direct human operation. You and your team can use custom parts, 3D printing, and electronics to improve your robot’s performance. Throughout the season, you will compete in tournaments against other teams, testing how well your robots can adapt to different strategies and game scenarios. Your performance depends on both the quality of engineering design and coding and your ability to plan, coordinate, and react in real time. The competition can give you hands-on experience in robotics, AI, and teamwork while preparing you for higher-level engineering challenges.

10. Stevens Institute of Technology High School Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Video Pitch Competition

Location: Virtual
Cost/Prizes: $20 entry fee; prizes include $500 (1st place), $250 (2nd place), $100 (3rd place)
Competition dates: Video submission deadline: January 15; Announcement of finalists: February 15
Registration deadline: January 7
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9 – 11

The High School Entrepreneurship and AI Video Pitch Competition requires you to create a short video presenting a business idea powered by artificial intelligence. You will identify a real-world problem, explain your solution, and show how AI plays a role in making it work. Your pitch will need to cover your target users, market potential, and how your idea could scale as a business. The competition focuses on both technical understanding and entrepreneurial thinking. Judges will evaluate your submission based on creativity, AI application, business impact, and presentation quality. The experience can help you practice communicating ideas clearly while exploring how AI can be used in real-world business contexts.

11. Kaggle’s March Machine Learning Mania 

Location: Online
Cost/Prizes: Free; cash prizes of $5,000 – $10,000
Competition dates: Submission phase: February 20 – March 19; Results announcement: March 19 – April 6
Registration deadline: March 19
Eligibility: Open to all Kaggle users; typical participants are over 18, but students under 18 are accepted with competition sponsor approval and appropriate parental/guardian consent.

March Machine Learning Mania is Kaggle’s NCAA basketball tournament prediction competition. You will build a model to predict the probability of one basketball team beating another for every possible matchup in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. Rather than choosing a single bracket, you will submit win probabilities across thousands of possible game combinations. You will work with historical NCAA game data to train your model, and your predictions will be scored against real tournament results when the games are played in real time. Winners will earn cash prizes. While not a typical AI challenge, this competition can help you refine your machine learning skills, which can help with advanced AI-based projects or contests. 

12. Stossel in the Classroom’s AI Challenge 

Location: Virtual
Cost/Prizes: Free to enter; prizes include $1,000 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), $250 (3rd place), and $100 for finalists.
Competition dates: Submission window: September 10 – January 9; Announcement of winners: February 20
Registration deadline: January 9
Eligibility: High school students in the U.S., Canada, or students with a U.S. military address

The AI Challenge by Stossel in the Classroom is a writing competition where you will use AI as a tool while also critically questioning it. You will start by choosing one of the provided prompts, then have a back-and-forth conversation with an approved AI tool to explore different perspectives. Instead of just accepting answers, you will be expected to challenge the AI, ask follow-up questions, and analyze its reasoning. After that, you will write a 500–750-word reflection explaining what you learned and how the AI shaped your thinking. Judges will focus on how deeply you engage with the topic, how well you question the AI, and how clearly you express your ideas. Winners and finalists both will earn cash prizes.

13. Kaggle AI Mathematical Olympiad: Progress Prize 3

Location: Virtual (hosted on Kaggle)
Cost/Prizes: Free to enter; total prize pool over $2.2 million, with top prizes awarded to leading teams and additional awards for specific achievements
Competition dates: November 20 – April 15
Registration deadline: April 8
Eligibility: Individuals and teams worldwide with some programming and machine learning experience; typical participants are over 18, but high school students may be accepted with parental consent and competition sponsor approval.

The AI Mathematical Olympiad: Progress Prize 3 is a global Kaggle competition where you will build AI models that can solve high-level math problems similar to Olympiad questions. You will work with datasets of original problems across algebra, geometry, combinatorics, and number theory, all written in LaTeX format. Your goal is to design algorithms that demonstrate real mathematical reasoning rather than just pattern recognition. Throughout the competition, you will submit your models, which will be ranked based on how accurately they solve these problems. The challenge is highly technical, so you will need strong coding and machine learning skills to compete. This challenge gives you a chance to work on advanced AI research problems and compete alongside experienced developers and researchers.

14. Technovation Girls Competition

Location: Virtual + regional events + World Summit (final event held in person internationally)
Cost/Prizes: Free to participate; finalists receive $500 each, winners receive $750 each + travel and accommodation to the World Summit.
Competition dates: August 13 – April 20; Judging: April – June; World Summit: October
Registration deadline: March 18
Eligibility: Girls and gender non-conforming students, ages 8 – 18, working in teams of 1–5

The Technovation Girls Competition lets you work in a team to build a technology-based solution to a real-world problem in your community. You will refine skills in coding, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship while developing a mobile or web app, along with a business plan and pitch. Throughout the competition, you will collaborate with teammates and often receive support from mentors or local chapters. Your final submission will include your product, technical explanation, and a pitch video explaining your idea and its impact. Projects will be judged in multiple rounds, with the top teams advancing to present at a global World Summit. 

15. MathWorks AI Challenge (Student Challenge)

Location: Virtual
Cost/Prizes: Free to participate; prizes include $1,000 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), $300 (3rd place)
Competition dates: Submission deadline: July 18; Winners announced: August 29
Registration deadline: July 18
Eligibility: Students, researchers, and engineers who are at least 18 when the contest begins

The MathWorks AI Challenge is a project-based competition where you will select an AI problem from a curated list and build your own solution. You will work on real-world applications using tools like MATLAB, then submit your work through a GitHub repository with proper documentation. The focus will be on how effectively your solution solves the problem, along with its originality and technical quality. Your project will be evaluated by engineers based on criteria like real-world impact, depth, and clarity of your code and explanation. You can also include a video to strengthen your submission and earn extra points. 

One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program

If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in computer programming, statistical analysis, and data science, you can consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! It is a selective virtual research program that allows you to engage in advanced research and come up with a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1,000+ high school students so far, offering 600+ research specializations to choose from. You can find the application link here!

Image Source – Stevens Institute of Technology