Transformative Research Challenge

We welcome all SLU-students with a bachelor/master degree or PhD/postdoc, under the age of 35, to compete in FAO Transformative Research Challenge 2026!
Winning teams in each focus area will receive USD 10 000! Focus areas this year are: “Leveraging Public Data to Fight Hunger”, “Youth-Led Research for Forest Restoration”, “Forest Monitoring Innovation” and “Unlocking Native Crops for Innovation in Protein Diversification”.

FAO organises each year the Transformative Research Challenge (TRC) that rewards students with innovative ideas moving beyond the idea level into practical solutions! The application is now out at https://youth.world-food-forum.org/innovation-lab/transformative-research-challenge/en and you can apply until May 9 2026!
Are you a group of 3-5 students working on extrapolating your innovative idea from “hopefully it works” to “it is ready to pilot”? Do you have an idea that has moved beyond the theoretical research stage to lab tests, controlled experiments, or early-stage prototypes? Then you should definitely put together 2-3 pages to be a part of the FAO Transformative Research Challenge 2026!
What’s in it for you? The excitement to be a part of a global competition with other students, and if your contribution passes the evaluations, an invitation to present your research-to-impact proposal and refined prototypes at the Transformative Research Challenge Finals during the WFF flagship event at FAO Head Quarters in Rome in October 2026 – with your travel expenses covered!

We are happy to provide with more information concerning the FAO Transformative Research Challenge 2026, in case interested please send an email to SLU Global global@slu.se. If you want advise about your idea please send an email to us at VentureLab@SLU venturelab@slu.se.