All posts by Helen Gardner

Coolest Projects 2026: Opens for entries in January!

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-2026-opens-for-entries-in-january/

Coolest Projects is our global technology showcase for young people up to age 18. It’s a place where young creators share the brilliant things they’ve made using digital technology — from first-ever Scratch projects and coding for fun experiments to ambitious robotics builds — with a global audience. Everyone who takes part receives certificates and rewards to celebrate their achievements.

What you need to know about Coolest Projects 2026

Coolest Projects is open to any young person, anywhere in the world. Creators can submit their tech projects to our online showcase, explore the global project gallery, and join our special celebration livestream. There are in-person events in some countries for local creators, too (find out more below).

Young learner at Coolest Projects UK

By taking part in Coolest Projects, young people can:

  • Join an international community of digital makers
  • Represent their country on a global stage
  • Receive feedback on their creations
  • Earn certificates to recognise their achievements
  • Celebrate their progress at our livestream event on 24 June 2026

It is completely free to take part in Coolest Projects, and we welcome all kinds of digital technology projects — from first attempts to an ambitious STEM project or advanced build. Projects don’t need to be finished to be submitted. 

Creators can enter a project into one of seven categories: Scratch, Games, Hardware, Web, Mobile Apps, Advanced Programming, and the emergent category of AI.

How Coolest Projects makes a difference

The findings from the Coolest Projects 2025 Impact report offer clear, evidence-based insights into how Coolest Projects builds confidence, creativity, and a sense of belonging for young people around the world. In 2025, almost 12,000 young people from 41 countries took part in Coolest Projects online, a 57% increase on the previous year. This year, we’re excited to welcome even more creators to the Coolest Projects community.

Young learner with her project at Coolest Projects UK

Our annual evaluation shows that Coolest Projects continues to have a powerful impact on young digital creators worldwide. In 2025:

  • 100% of mentors and 72% of young people taking part in the online showcase said their confidence in digital making increased
  • 83% of young people felt inspired to continue learning and participating in computing after taking part
  • 74% of young creators and 100% of mentors said Coolest Projects helped them or their team feel a sense of belonging in computing
  • 80% of surveyed young people said seeing projects from around the world made them feel part of a larger community of makers

Creators told us how proud they felt sharing their work:

“It feels like I’m being noticed!” – Young creator, UK

 “I enjoyed presenting my project and seeing so many creative ideas from others.” – Young creator, India

With many early-stage makers joining for the first time, including 55% of young people at in-person events, Coolest Projects continues to be an accessible entry point into the world of digital creativity.

Young learner at Coolest Projects Ireland

We’re also proud to see growing participation from girls who code, who tell us they value the chance to share their ideas and be inspired by others. At in-person events, girls made up 63% of creators in India, 50% in the US, 39% in Ireland, and 37% in the UK.

Find out more about the incredible creativity and collaboration from mentors and makers worldwide in our 2025 Impact report: rpf.io/cp-impact-2025

How to take part in Coolest Projects

  1. Come up with an idea — or choose something you’ve already made for school or a science fair project. Whether it started as a small classroom task or a personal coding challenge, any tech creation can be part of Coolest Projects. Our projects site offers hundreds of free, step-by-step guides — ideal for beginners, mentors, and anyone looking for engaging STEM activities for kids. The 2025 online gallery is also a great place to find inspiration for your next cool coding project.
  2. Select your category. Our category pages break down each of the seven categories, including our AI category.
  3. Work on the project individually or with friends. Young people can take part individually or in teams of up to five.
  4. Submit it via the Coolest Projects website by 27 May 2026. We encourage creators to take part in both the online showcase and their local in-person event — find the dates below.
  5. See your project showcased in our online gallery.
  6. Join the celebration livestream to discover creations from around the world on 24 June 2026.
I want to take part
Presenter: Greg Foot interviewing a young learner at Coolest Projects

Group codes for mentors entering multiple projects online

If you’re entering several projects on behalf of your group, you can create a group code to link young people’s projects to your account.

Here’s a quick reminder of how it works:

  • Sign up or log in: Use your Raspberry Pi account or create a new one.
  • Create a group: Add your group details, including name and country.
  • Share your group code: Young people enter the code on their project submission form.
  • Review and submit: View all linked projects in your group dashboard.

There is no limit to the number of young people who can submit through one group code.

If you’d like a full walkthrough, watch our step-by-step group code ‘how-to’ video.

Whether your coders are beginners or experienced digital makers, there are lots of resources to support them. Visit the Coolest Projects guidance page for mentor guides, session plans, and more.

Coolest Projects in-person events in 2026

Alongside the global online showcase, Coolest Projects events will take place in several countries again this year. We encourage creators to take part in both their local in-person event and the global showcase.

Two young learner testing out a project at Coolest Projects UK

Save the date for:

  • Coolest Projects Belgium – 14 March
  • Coolest Projects Japan – 29 March
  • Coolest Projects USA (Minnesota) – 11 April
  • Coolest Projects Ireland – 25 April
  • Coolest Projects USA (Georgia) – 2 May
  • Coolest Projects UK – 16 May
  • Coolest Projects Sudan (held in Egypt) – 12 August
  • Coolest Projects Nigeria – 29 August

More dates coming soon for:

  • Coolest Projects Canada 
  • Coolest Projects India
  • Coolest Projects Indonesia
  • Coolest Projects Malaysia
  • Coolest Projects South Africa
  • Coolest Projects Sri Lanka

Sign up to the Coolest Projects newsletter to be the first to hear about events near you.

We can’t wait to see what your young people create

Whether your young people already have something they’re excited to share or they’re ready to start something new, Coolest Projects is the perfect place to celebrate their creativity, problem solving, and imagination.

We can’t wait to see the incredible projects they bring to Coolest Projects 2026.

I want to take part

The post Coolest Projects 2026: Opens for entries in January! appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Celebrating young tech creators: Coolest Projects 2025 and what’s next in 2026

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/celebrating-young-tech-creators-coolest-projects-2025-and-whats-next-in-2026/

Coolest Projects is all about celebrating young digital creators and the brilliant things they make with technology. This year, we’ve seen just how much taking part can boost young people’s confidence, creativity, and sense of belonging. Today, we’re sharing the impact of Coolest Projects 2025 and looking ahead to what’s next for 2026.

Young creators at the Coolest Projects Ireland 2025 event.
Young creators at the Coolest Projects Ireland 2025 event.

Highlights from Coolest Projects 2025

More young people than ever took part in 2025, with 11,980 young people from 41 countries joining the Coolest Projects global online showcase, a 57% increase from last year. We also hosted a livestream celebrating all participants and announcing the judges’ favourites, which has been watched by over 2,000 people. Plus, we expanded our in-person events, including bringing Coolest Projects back to the USA and running our very first in-person event in India.

This year saw significant growth in in-person events, with a record number of young people sharing their creations face-to-face. Across the UK and Ireland, more than 200 young people showcased their projects to judges, families, and peers. Attendance at the UK event grew significantly compared to 2024, reflecting the strong enthusiasm for digital making, while the Ireland event continued to attract a dedicated community of young creators. This enthusiasm shows how much young people value being part of a creative, supportive community that helps them share ideas and develop their skills.

The Coolest Projects 2025 participant map.
The Coolest Projects 2025 participant map.

We were equally delighted to run Coolest Projects USA again, where young people embraced the chance to connect, share their work, and draw inspiration from one another. We also saw strong interest in the new AI category, with notable uptake at the UK and US events.

Participation by girls in the online showcase kept growing in 2025: 51% of entrants identified as female, up from 47% last year. We’re excited to build on this momentum and inspire even more girls to share their creations in 2026. We’ll continue encouraging participation by girls across all categories and broaden local promotion, especially where new in-person events are launching, to help maintain gender balance.

Online showcase: Confidence, skills, and inspiration

To understand Coolest Projects’ impact, we gathered survey and interview feedback from young creators, mentors, and event attendees across both the online showcase and in-person events. 

This year’s online surveys and interviews indicate that Coolest Projects continues to be a powerful driver of confidence and skills:

  • 72% of young people and 100% of mentors agreed that participating increased confidence in coding and digital making
  • 89% of young people reported improved coding and digital making skills
  • 83% of young people (and 100% of mentors) said they felt inspired to continue with computing and digital making after taking part

Young people and mentors told us that the online gallery plays a crucial role in sparking ideas and motivation:

“Kids definitely were excited in knowing their project might be seen by other kids around the world and displayed publicly online, so it’s truly a way for them to feel recognised. It definitely motivated them too.” – Mentor, South Africa

Coolest Projects truly offers a global setting like no other, giving young people the chance to see ideas from across the world and feel part of an inspiring international community.

In-person events: community and belonging

Creators told us how special it felt to be surrounded by peers who love making with technology. They valued sharing their projects, meeting like-minded people, and getting ideas from others:

“I think it’s really interesting seeing a lot of other children that understand programming and want to get better at it.” – Young creator, Coolest Projects USA

Young creators at the Coolest Projects India 2025 event.
Young creators at the Coolest Projects India 2025 event.

Survey data echoes this: 74% of young people said Coolest Projects helped them feel they belong in computing. Many also highlighted the wider skills they developed, from problem solving and creativity to communication and teamwork:

“We [my friends and I] thought it was a really great opportunity and idea to make a project that we could all work on together and it’s been really awesome getting to know these girls and working together, fixing whatever code that we made wrong, debugging, you know…. We’d come together once a week to work on this project. So, I honestly got to learn a lot from them, watching them and how they code because they’re a little more advanced than I am. But, you know, that just means I get to learn more. So, you get to learn skills and support each other. It’s been awesome…”  – Young creator, Coolest Projects USA

Young people returning for another year described how they stretched themselves, from advanced Scratch techniques to experimenting with AI and robotics. They also said hands-on project work is better than passive learning every time.

“…It’s the journey on which I go through to create the robot. And through that journey, I seem to learn much more than say if I were to watch a YouTube video and not do anything practical with it. I learn much more if I physically get hands-on with robotics encoding.” – Young creator, Coolest Projects UK

Alongside the projects on show, young people loved the interactive activities at events (with shout outs for VR and our escape room in the UK), and appreciated the friendly, approachable judges and smooth event setup. A new group registration system also made it much easier for mentors to enter multiple projects.

Dates for Coolest Projects 2026

We’re thrilled that so many young people around the world took part this year, and we can’t wait to welcome even more creators in 2026.

“Make it [the event] bigger so more people can come.” – Young creator, Coolest Projects USA

The Coolest Projects online showcase is open to any young person up to age 18, anywhere in the world. Registration will open on 14 January 2026. We’ll host a celebratory livestream on 24 June 2026.

Coolest Projects in-person events will also be popping up around the world. In-person events are open to everyone up to age 18 in the host country. Family and friends are very welcome to come along too. 

Save the date for:

  • Coolest Projects Belgium, 14 March
  • Coolest Projects Japan, 28 March
  • Coolest Projects USA Minnesota, 11 April
  • Coolest Projects USA Georgia, 2 May
  • Coolest Projects UK, 16 May
  • Coolest Projects Sudan (held in Egypt), 12 August
  • Coolest Projects Nigeria, 29 August

More dates coming soon for:

  • Coolest Projects Canada 
  • Coolest Projects India
  • Coolest Projects Indonesia
  • Coolest Projects Ireland
  • Coolest Projects Malaysia
  • Coolest Projects South Africa
  • Coolest Projects Sri Lanka

Want to be first to know when more dates are confirmed? Sign up to our newsletter and keep an eye on the Coolest Projects website for announcements.

Get involved

It’s never too early to start making and saving your digital projects for next year’s showcase. Whether you’re into AI, games, web, hardware, or Scratch, there’s a place for your ideas at Coolest Projects. 

Start by:

We can’t wait to see what the world’s young tech creators will make next!

The post Celebrating young tech creators: Coolest Projects 2025 and what’s next in 2026 appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Coolest Projects 2025: Where 11,980 young tech creators shared their ideas

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-2025-where-11980-young-tech-creators-shared-their-ideas/

From AI-powered inventions to eco-friendly gadgets, young creators from around the world have once again amazed us at this year’s Coolest Projects online showcase. An incredible 11,980 participants from 41 countries shared 5,952 tech projects in our online gallery, and every single one showed creativity and commitment to learning something new.

A young creator playing a game made in Scatch

Coolest Projects is an annual global showcase for young people who love to make things with technology, whether it’s a clever Scratch game, a hardware hack, or an app that solves a real-world problem. 

In 2025, we introduced a brand new AI category, supported by Amazon Future Engineer and Allianz, which drew over 100 impressive entries, covering everything from mood-sensing AI tools to jellyfish vs plastic bag image classifiers.

Last week, we celebrated all of these brilliant makers in a special livestream event. As always, a panel of VIP judges selected a few standout creations to highlight this year. You can catch up on the livestream here.

Meet our 2025 judges below and find out which projects inspired them the most.

Judges’ favourite projects 2025

Kelly Shiohira | Director, Global Science of Learning Education Network

Kelly is the director of the Global Science of Learning Education Network, a global group of scientists, researchers, and educationalists working to improve learning experiences for all. With a strong background in AI and education technology, Kelly was awarded the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

Check out Kelly’s favourites:

The AI favourites

Matt Gascoyne | Engineer at British Antarctic Survey

Matt is a software and electronics engineer at the British Antarctic Survey, developing innovative digital projects in some of the world’s most remote environments. From testing code in the freezing Antarctic to debugging with penguins nearby, Matt brings creativity and resilience to his tech work.

Check out Matt’s favourites:

The Games favourites

Ebona Eastmond-Henry | Augmented Reality Partnerships at Niantic

Ebona leads product marketing in EMEA at Niantic, the creators of Pokémon GO. With a background in fashion and television, she brings a flair for storytelling to the world of augmented reality and mixed reality.

Check out Ebona’s favourites:

The Scratch favourites

Amar Kedare | Programs Lead, WPP Foundation

Amar leads digital education initiatives at the WPP Foundation, enabling underserved youth to explore tech through coding, robotics, and design. Recognised as the Young CSR Leader in 2023, Amar combines creativity, technology, and social impact to empower the next generation.

Check out Amar’s favourite projects:

The Advanced favourites

Discover more projects and get inspired

Now that you’ve met the judges and seen some of the standout projects they picked, why not explore the full Coolest Projects 2025 online showcase? Dive into thousands of brilliant ideas from young creators around the world — and let their creativity spark your next big tech project!

In-person events still to come in 2025

For some creators, there’s still time to get involved this year, with in-person events coming up in India, South Africa, Ghana, and more. Head to our website to see if there’s an in-person event happening near you.

2 young creators speaking to a judge at Coolest Projects UK

Want to know more about the next online showcase?

Coolest Projects will be back online and with in-person events around the globe in 2026. Sign up to the newsletter to be the first to hear about dates, deadlines, and exciting updates.

Thank you to our sponsors

Support from our Coolest Projects sponsors means we can make the online showcase and celebration livestream an inspiring experience for the young people taking part. We want to say a big thank you to Broadcom, Allianz, Amazon Future Engineer, Qube-RT, Avnet and GoTo.

The post Coolest Projects 2025: Where 11,980 young tech creators shared their ideas appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Coolest Projects 2024: 7197 young tech creators showcase their projects online

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-2024-young-tech-creators-showcase-their-projects-online/

Our Coolest Projects 2024 online showcase has come to a close, with 7197 young people from 43 countries sharing the incredible things they have made with code. A huge congratulations to everyone who took part!

Young people raising their hands in the air.

Coolest Projects is our annual global celebration of young digital creators and the cool things they make with technology. This year’s showcase featured 4678 amazing projects, from a doughnut clicker game created in Scratch to an app that tracks sunscreen usage and areas with high UV levels for users. 

This week, we celebrated each and every young creator and their incredible tech projects in a special livestream:

Every year, we invite some very special VIP judges to choose their favourite projects to highlight. Meet our 2024 judges and find out about the projects they picked.

Azra Ismail’s favourite projects

Azra is the co-founder of MakerGhat, an education nonprofit based in India that aims to nurture underserved youth to become the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. MakerGhat has reached around a million youth to date through hands-on making programmes. She is also an Assistant Professor at Emory University, where she directs the CARE Lab (Collective Action & Research for Equity). Azra was named in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list, and has previously worked with Google, the Wadhwani Institute for AI, and United Nations Global Pulse. She has a PhD in Human-Centered Computing and Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech. 

See Azra’s favourite projects:

Judges’ favourite projects in the Scratch category.

Greg Foot’s favourite projects

Greg is an award-winning Science Presenter and Producer who has written and hosted a bunch of stuff on TV, YouTube, radio, and stage over the past 20 years. Greg has a BBC Radio 4 show called Sliced Bread that investigates whether wonder products like face creams and air fryers are indeed ‘the best thing since sliced bread’, or marketing hype. Greg regularly pops up on TV — he’s a regular on the BBC’s Morning Live and was the in-house science guy on Blue Peter and Sunday Brunch for many years. He’s also hosted multiple TV series, made live shows for families on YouTube (Let’s Go Live), and toured science theatre shows around the UK.

Take a look at Greg’s favourite projects:

Judges’ favourite projects in the Web category.

Natalie Lao’s favourite projects

Natalie is the Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, a global nonprofit that has empowered over 20 million inventors of all ages to create over 100 million apps to improve their lives and uplift their communities. She received her PhD in ML and AI education from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, and currently serves as Expert on Mission at UNESCO to develop the UN’s AI Competency Framework for K-12 Students. 

See which projects Natalie chose as her favourites:

Judges’ favourite projects in the Games category.

Selin Ornek’s favourite projects

Selin is a 17-year-old multi-award winner and changemaker who has been passionate about using tech for good since an early age. She taught herself to code at age 8 and started building robots at 10, and participated in Coolest Projects for many years. She has built seven robots to date, including the social good robot iC4U, a robot guide dog for visually impaired people, and BB4All, an anti-bullying school aid robot. She has also built a stray dog wellbeing app, JAVA, and an AI model for breast cancer diagnosis. Her aim is to inspire young people, especially girls, to see the fun and importance of using tech for good.

Selin’s favourite projects are:

Judges’ favourite projects in the Mobile category.

Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award

We partnered with Broadcom Foundation to give a special award to young creators using coding and computing to solve real-world problems that matter to their communities. Broadcom Coding with Commitment® is a special recognition for a Coolest Projects creator aged 11–14 who has used computing as an essential problem-solving tool to help those around them.

Naitik, Shravasti and Nikita present their 'Drainage alert system' project.

This year’s Broadcom Coding with Commitment® recipients are Naitik, Shravasti, and Nikita from India in recognition of their project Drainage alert system. Their thoughtful project uses a water flow sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi computer to detect when waste enters the drainage system and causes blockages and send an alert to the local council.

Get inspired and keep creating!

Now you’ve seen the judges’ favourite projects, it’s time to pick your own! Take a look at the Coolest Projects 2024 online showcase gallery to see all the amazing projects from young people all over the world, and get inspired to make your own.

Judges’ favourite projects in the Hardware category.

Participants will shortly receive their own unique certificates and the personalised feedback on their projects from our team of judges, to celebrate their achievements.

Judges’ favourite projects in the Advanced category.

Support from our Coolest Projects sponsors means we can make the online showcase and celebration livestream an inspiring experience for the young people taking part. We want to say a big thank you to all of them: Amazon Future Engineer, Broadcom Foundation, GoTo, Kingston Technology, Meta, and Qube Research & Technologies.

The post Coolest Projects 2024: 7197 young tech creators showcase their projects online appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Registration is open for Coolest Projects 2024

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/registration-is-open-for-coolest-projects-2024/

Big news for young coders and everyone who supports them: project registration is now open for Coolest Projects 2024! Coolest Projects is our global technology showcase for young people aged up to 18. It gives young creators the incredible opportunity to share the cool stuff they’ve made with digital technology with a global audience, and receive certificates and rewards to celebrate their achievements.

A young coder shows off her tech project Five young coders show off their robotic garden tech project for Coolest Projects to two other young tech creators.

What you need to know about Coolest Projects

The Coolest Projects online showcase is open to young people worldwide. Young creators can register their projects to share them with the world in our online project gallery, and join our exciting livestream event to celebrate what they have made with the global Coolest Projects community.

Four young coders show off their tech project for Coolest Projects.

By taking part in Coolest Projects, young people can join an international community of young makers, represent their country, receive personalised feedback on their projects, and get certificates and more to recognise their achievements.

Here’s how it works:

  • Coolest Projects is completely free to take part in!
  • All digital technology projects are welcome, from very first projects to advanced builds, and the projects don’t have to be complete
  • Projects can be registered in one of six categories: Scratch, games, web, mobile apps, hardware, and advanced programming
  • Young creators up to age 18 can take part individually or in teams of up to five friends
  • Any young person anywhere in the world can take part in the online showcase, and there are in-person events in some countries for local creators too (find out more below)
  • Registration for the online showcase is now open and closes on 22 May 2024
  • All creators, mentors, volunteers, teachers, parents, and supporters are invited to the special celebration livestream on 26 June 2024
I want to register a project

Taking part in Coolest Projects is simple:

  • Young people think of an idea for their project, or choose something they’ve already made and are proud of
  • Young people work with friends to create their project, or make it on their own 
  • Creators (with the help of mentors if needed) register projects via the Coolest Projects website by 22 May
  • Creators’ projects are shared with the world in the online showcase gallery
  • Creators, mentors, and supporters explore the amazing projects in the online gallery, and join the livestream on 26 June to celebrate young creators’ achievements with the Coolest Projects community worldwide
Two young coders work on their tech project on a laptop to control a sewing machine for Coolest Projects.

Coolest Projects in-person events in 2024

As well as the global online showcase, Coolest Projects in-person events are held for young people locally in certain countries too, and we encourage creators to take part in both the online showcase and their local in-person event.

The exhibition hall at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.

In 2024, creators can look forward to the following in-person events, run by us and partner organisations around the world:

More events are coming soon, so sign up to the Coolest Projects newsletter to be sure to hear about any in-person events in your country. And if there isn’t an event near you, don’t worry. The online showcase is open to any young person anywhere in the world.

A Coolest Projects sign with two people doing handstands in front of it.

Help for you is at hand

Coolest Projects welcomes all digital tech projects, from beginner to advanced, and there are loads of great resources available to help you support the young people in your community to take part.

Young people and an adult mentor at a computer at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.

We are running a series of online calls and webinars for mentors and young people to share practical tips and help participants develop their ideas and build their creations. Sign up for the sessions here. All sessions will be recorded, so you can watch them back if you can’t join live.

You can also check out the Coolest Projects guidance page for resources to help you support young people throughout their Coolest Projects journey, including a mentor guide and session plans.

Five young coders show off their robotic garden tech project for Coolest Projects.

To inspire your coders, encourage them to take a look at the 2023 showcase gallery, where they can explore the incredible projects submitted by participants last year.

Our projects site is also a great place for participants to begin — there are hundreds of free step-by-step project guides to help young people create their own projects, whether they’re experienced tech creators or they’re just getting started.

Sign up for Coolest Projects updates

There’s lots more exciting news to come, from the announcement of our VIP judges to details about this year’s swag, so sign up for email updates to be the first to know. And whether your coders have already made something fun, innovative, or amazing that they want to share, or they’re inspired to make something new, Coolest Projects is the place for them. We can’t wait to see what they create!

The post Registration is open for Coolest Projects 2024 appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Coolest Projects is back in 2024

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-2024-dates/

Big news for young tech creators: Coolest Projects will return in 2024. The world’s leading showcase for young creators of digital tech will be open for registration in the online gallery, and we want young people worldwide to showcase their tech projects.

In 2024, we are hosting the Coolest Projects online showcase and livestream celebration for all young creators around the world, and also in-person events in the UK and Ireland for young creators who live there.

A girl presenting a digital making project

Key dates for Coolest Projects 2024

All young tech creators can take part — for free — in the Coolest Projects online showcase:

  • Registration opens: 14 February 2024
  • Registration closes: 22 May 2024
  • Celebratory livestream with announcement of the judges’ favourite projects: 26 June 2024
A young person using Raspberry Pi hardware and learning resources to do digital making

How does Coolest Projects work?

Coolest Projects is an opportunity for young tech creators to share what they have made with the world. Young people register their tech creations to show them the Coolest Projects online showcase gallery. Alongside mentors, parents, friends, and family members in their local and global communities, they can explore the gallery and celebrate what they and their peers have made.

Who can take part?

  • Coolest Projects is open to all tech creators up to age 18
  • Tech creators of all experience levels are encouraged to participate
  • Creators can take part individually or in teams of up to five
  • Creators can live in any place in the world
  • Participation is free
A boy participating in Coolest Projects shows off his tech project together with an adult.

What kinds of tech projects can be part of Coolest Projects?

  • All projects are welcome, whether they are beginner, advanced, or something in between
  • Projects can be registered in six categories: Scratch, games, web, mobile apps, hardware, and advanced programming
  • We love to see works in progress, so projects don’t need to be completed to be registered
  • Creators can choose any topic for their project, for example community, environment, health, fun, art, education, or identity
A group of young women present a robot buggy they have built.

What happens after registration?

  • The online gallery is open for young tech creators to explore to see what their peers all over the world have made
  • Judges evaluate projects based on their coolness, complexity, design, usability, and presentation, and give feedback to creators about their projects
  • Judges pick some of their favourite projects to highlight, and every participant gets a unique certificate and some fun digital swag
  • Participants and the whole global Coolest Projects community celebrates young tech creators’ ingenuity on our livestream on 26 June
Four young coders show off their tech project for Coolest Projects.

How can young people get started with their projects?

If your kids want to learn about creating with technology, check out our free guided coding project paths. These paths are designed to support all young people to learn how to make their own tech projects and develop their coding skills. For example:

  • For young people who are completely new to coding, our Introduction to Scratch path is a great place to start
  • If young people would like to create their own website, for example to share information about a cause they care about, they can follow our Intro to web path
  • The Introduction to Unity path is perfect for more experienced creators who are keen to build interactive 3D world

Young creators can take a look at the Coolest Projects 2023 online showcase gallery for inspiration if they are not sure what they want to make. You can also watch the story of Zaahra and Eesa, siblings who participated in Coolest Projects 2020.

Coolest Projects in-person events: Ireland and the UK

If you are a young creator in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, or the UK, then Coolest Projects is also coming to you in person in 2024. Participants will be able to meet other young tech creators, connect to their community, and celebrate each other’s creations. Young people are encouraged to take part in both the Coolest Projects global online showcase and their local in-person event.

Coolest Projects Ireland

  • Registration opens: 31 January 2024
  • Registration closes: 20 March 2024
  • Event day: 13 April 2024
The exhibition hall at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.
Coolest Projects Ireland 2023

Coolest Projects Ireland will take place at DCU St Patrick’s College Campus, Drumcondra in Dublin. It’s open to young creators in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and their families and friends are invited to come along to celebrate them and see all the incredible projects on show. Participants can apply for partial bursaries for the costs of attending the event.

Coolest Projects UK

Very soon we will announce the date and venue for Coolest Projects UK for all young creators in the UK. Sign up for email updates to be the first to hear about it. We will also share full details of each in-person event on the Coolest Projects website when registration opens.

A young person creating a project at a laptop. An adult is sat next to them.

If you live in another country…

If there’s not an in-person Coolest Projects event near you, you can still join in the fun: the Coolest Projects online showcase is open to any young creator aged up to 18, from anywhere in the world. We also work with brilliant partner organisations around the world to bring Coolest Projects events to their countries and communities. Sign up to the Coolest Projects newsletter to be the first to know about any in-person event in your country.

What’s next?

Coolest Projects registration opens soon in 2024, and young creators can start thinking of ideas and working on their projects now. Or if young people have already made something they are really proud of, they can showcase that creation once registration is open.

Coolest Projects logo.

Sign up for email updates to always get the latest news about all things Coolest Projects, from event updates to the fun swag coming for 2024.

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Celebrating young tech creators in person: Coolest Projects events 2023

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-in-person-events-2023/

In the 2023 Coolest Projects online showcase, 5801 young people from all over the world shared the wonderful, fun, and creative things they had made with technology. But that’s not all we’ve seen of Coolest Projects this year. As well as our worldwide annual online showcase, a number of in-person Coolest Projects events are taking place in countries across the globe in 2023.

The exhibition hall at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.
The exhibition hall at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.

Run by us or partner organisations, these exciting events create a space for young people to meet other young tech creators, connect to their community, and celebrate each others’ creations. In-person Coolest Projects events around the world had to pause over the coronavirus pandemic, and we’re delighted to see them return to engage and inspire young people once again.

Coolest Projects Ireland in Dublin

On 1 July, we were super excited to host Coolest Projects Ireland, our first in-person Coolest Projects event since 2020. 63 young tech creators from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland came together in Dublin for an exciting one-day event where they shared 43 incredible creations, with engineer and STEM communicator Dr Niamh Shaw leading everyone through the day’s celebrations.

Young tech creators with projects in the Scratch category on stage at Coolest Projects Ireland.
The creators with projects in the Scratch category on stage with Dr Niamh Shaw.

One young maker showcasing her project was Charlotte from Kinsale CoderDojo in the Republic of Ireland. Her creative storytelling project ‘Goldicat and the Three Angry Property Owners’ was chosen as a judges’ favourite in the Scratch category.

Charlotte’s story includes different games and three secret endings for the user to discover. She told us: “I know someone who made an animation based off the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel in Scratch. This inspired me to make a game based off a different fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Charlotte’s project ‘Goldicat and the Three Angry Property Owners’.

Harshit entered the Hardware category with his amazing mini vending machine. Describing his project, he explained, “This is a recreation of a vending machine, but I have added my own twists to it to make it simple to build. You still get the full experience of an actual vending machine, but what makes it special is that it is made fully out of recycled materials.”

A young tech creator with a hardware project at Coolest Projects Ireland.
Harshit with his mini vending machine project.

Young people at Coolest Projects Ireland were joined and supported by family, friends, and mentors from Code Clubs and CoderDojos. Mentors told us their favourite things about attending a Coolest Projects event in person were “the joy and excitement the participants got from taking part and discussing their project with the judges”, and “the way it was very inclusive to all children and all [were] included on stage for some swag!”

Coolest Projects events by partners around the world

In 2023 we’re partnering with six organisations that are bringing Coolest Projects events for their communities. We’re still looking forward to the exciting Coolest Projects events planned in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Iraq, and South Africa during the rest of the year. 

Back in June, more than 30 young creators participated in Coolest Projects Hungary, which was organised in Budapest by the team at EPAM. And April saw our partner CoderDojo Belgium organise Coolest Projects Belgium for 40 young people, who shared 25 projects across different categories from Scratch to Hardware and Advanced Programming.

A young tech creator with a laptop at Coolest Projects Belgium.
A young tech creator at Coolest Projects Belgium.
A young tech creator with a laptop at Coolest Projects Belgium.
A young tech creator at Coolest Projects Belgium.

The CoderDojo Belgium team shared how important the Coolest Projects event is to their community:

“Just like every year, we’ve unlocked the doors to welcome the next generation of tech enthusiasts. And this year, once again, we were absolutely amazed by the projects they brought to the spotlight. From an app predicting stock market evolution, to creatively designed games with unexpected twists, not to mention the incredible robots, and more, their ingenuity knows no bounds.”

CoderDojo Belgium

How you can get involved in Coolest Projects

We’re excited that the Coolest Projects online showcase — open to any young creator anywhere in the world — will return in 2024. And if there isn’t a Coolest Projects in-person event in your country yet, don’t worry. We’re working with more and more partners every year to bring Coolest Projects events to more young people.

To stay up to date with news about the Coolest Projects online showcase, sign up to the newsletter.

Young people and an adult mentor at a computer at Coolest Projects Ireland 2023.

And you can celebrate young tech creators with us year round wherever you are by following Coolest Projects on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, where we share inspiring projects from the Coolest Projects online gallery and photos from the in-person events.

We’d like to thank Meta, GoTo, and Pimoroni for supporting the Coolest Projects Ireland event. If you’re interested in partnering with us for Coolest Projects, please reach out to us via email.

The post Celebrating young tech creators in person: Coolest Projects events 2023 appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Celebrating 5801 young people’s digital creations at Coolest Projects 2023

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/celebrating-coolest-projects-2023/

An absolutely huge congratulations to each and every single young creator who participated in Coolest Projects 2023, our digital technology showcase for young people! 5801 young people from 37 countries took part. This year’s participants made projects that entertained, inspired, and wowed us — creators showcased everything from robotic arms to platformer games.

We celebrated every project and maker in a special livestream event this Tuesday:

Each year, we invite VIP judges to pick their favourite projects. This year they had the difficult job of choosing between 4111 incredible projects young people showcased. Meet the judges and find out which projects were their favourites.

Yewande Akinola’s favourite projects

Yewande is a chartered engineer, innovator, and speaker. She has worked on projects in the UK, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, and has been named the UK Young Woman Engineer of the Year by the Institution of Engineering & Technology.

Yewande Akinola gives a speech.

See Yewande’s favourites:

Coolest Projects 2023 Scratch favourites.

Vaishali Sharma’s favourite projects

Vaishali is an Indian engineer, innovator, and revolutionary educationist. She is the co-founder of Young Tinker Academy and Young Tinker Foundation, started in 2015 to educate the less-privileged students of rural India. Her team at Young Tinker Foundation has impacted the lives of 150,000+ students.

Vaishali Sharma gives a speech.

Vaishali’s favourites are:

Coolest Projects 2023 web favourites.

Lella Halloum’s favourite projects

Lella is an award-winning 18-year-old Digital Changemaker and Power of Youth Champion. Since she taught herself to code at age 8, Lella fosters purpose-driven innovation to create global industry opportunities that ensure young people are at the forefront of the ongoing digital transformation.

Lella Halloum.

Lella’s favourite projects are:

Coolest Projects 2023 games favourites.

Aoife Flynn’s favourite projects

Aoife is the Head of Community Development for Meta Data Centres in Europe and Asia. She and her team deliver on Meta’s commitment to playing a positive role and investing in the long-term vitality of Meta Data Centre communities in Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Singapore.

Aoife Flynn.

See Aoife’s favourite projects:

Coolest Projects 2023 mobile apps favourites.

Broadcom Coding with Commitment™ award

Broadcom Foundation has partnered with us for Coolest Projects to encourage young people who are solving problems that impact their communities. Broadcom Coding with Commitment™ is a special recognition for a Coolest Projects creator aged 11–14 who has learned basic coding as an essential problem-solving tool in STEM and is “thinking globally while acting locally.”

Coolest Projects 2023 entry that received the Broadcom Coding with Commitment award.

The Broadcom Coding with Commitment™ recognition goes to Smart Farm, a project by Dang, Chi, and An from Vietnam. They designed Smart Farm to help farmers in their community regulate the temperature of animals, feed them on time, and check them for diseases. The team also built a fish pond model that tests the pH of the water and a vegetable garden model that detects when vegetables are wilting, all with the aim of helping local farmers to care for their livestock and protect their livelihoods. Huge congratulations to the team!

There’s so much more to celebrate

Our judges have chosen their favourite projects — but what about yours? You can explore thousands of incredible projects for 2023 young creators in the Coolest Projects showcase gallery and discover your favourites today.

Coolest Projects 2023 hardware favourites.

All young creators who took part will shortly receive their own unique certificate to recognise their amazing achievements. They’ll also be able to log into their Coolest Projects account to find personalised feedback on their projects from our judging team.

Coolest Projects 2023 advanced programming favourites.

Support from our Coolest Projects sponsors means we can make the online showcase and celebration livestream an inspiring experience for the young people taking part. We want to say a big thank you to all of them: Allianz Technologies, Broadcom Foundation, EPAM Systems, Liberty Global, Meta, and Qube Research and Technologies.

The post Celebrating 5801 young people’s digital creations at Coolest Projects 2023 appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Register your project for Coolest Projects 2023 now

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/register-for-coolest-projects-2023/

Young creators, it’s time to share your ideas with the world! Registration for Coolest Projects is now open.

Coolest Projects logo.

Coolest Projects is an online showcase celebrating all young people who create with digital technology. From today, Monday 6 February, young people can register their projects on the Coolest Projects website. Registered projects will be part of the online showcase gallery, for people all over the world to see.

A young person programming in Scratch on a laptop.
A group of young people work together at a computer.

By entering your digital tech creations into Coolest Projects, you’ll have the chance to get personalised feedback about your project, represent your country in the online showcase, and get fun, limited-edition swag. Your project could even be selected as a favourite by our very special VIP judges.

What you need to know about Coolest Projects

Coolest Projects is an online celebration of young digital tech creators worldwide, their skills, and their wonderful creative ideas. We welcome all kinds of projects, from big to small, beginner to advanced, and work in progress to completed creation.

A young person creating a project at a laptop. An adult is sat next to them.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Coolest Projects is all online and completely free
  • All digital technology projects are welcome, from very first projects to advanced builds, and they don’t have to be complete
  • Young creators up to age 18 from anywhere in the world can take part individually or in teams of up to five friends
  • Projects can be registered in one of six categories: Scratch, games, web, mobile apps, hardware, and advanced programming
  • Registration is now open and closes on 26 April 2023
  • All creators, mentors, volunteers, teachers, parents, and supporters are invited to the special celebration livestream on 6 June 2023

Five steps to taking part in Coolest Projects

  1. Imagine your idea for a project
  2. Choose your project category
  3. Gather a group of friends or work by yourself to make your project
  4. Register the project in a few clicks to share it in the showcase gallery
  5. Explore the other projects from around the world in the showcase gallery, and join the community at the special celebration livestream
A group of young people plan their projects on laptops.

If you’d like help with your idea or project, take a look at our free, step-by-step Coolest Projects workbook and coding project guides. You can also get inspired by all the creations in the 2022 showcase gallery.

You are also very welcome to register a tech project you’ve already made and want to share with the world this year.

I want to register a project now

We offer free resources to help mentors and parents support young people through the process of taking part in Coolest Projects, from imagining ideas, to creating projects, to registration.

A parent and young person work on a digital making project at home.

There are loads more announcements to come, so make sure to subscribe to the Coolest Projects newsletter to be the first to find out about this year’s VIP judges, limited-edition digital swag, and much more.

The post Register your project for Coolest Projects 2023 now appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

Coolest Projects Global will be back in 2023

Post Syndicated from Helen Gardner original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/coolest-projects-global-will-be-back-in-2023/

Young tech creators, get ready: Coolest Projects Global will be back in 2023 and we want to make this the year of your big idea!

A young person is excited about something on a computer screen.

Coolest Projects Global is the world’s leading online technology showcase for young creators across the world, and we’ll soon be inviting young people to share their creations in the 2023 gallery when project registration opens on 6 February. 

A group of Coolest Projects participants from all over the world wave their flags.

For young creators, Coolest Projects Global is the unique opportunity to share their big ideas with the whole world. All projects in our open online showcase receive personalised feedback from judges, and all creators get some awesome limited-edition swag too. To bring all the participants together, we’ll host a live-streamed celebration event online on 6 June 2023, where we’ll also reveal the favourite projects of our very special VIP judges.

How does Coolest Projects Global work?

  • Coolest Projects Global is completely free, it’s all online, and it’s open to all digital creators up to age 18 from anywhere in the world. Creators can take part independently or in teams of up to five.
  • Tech creators of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. Coolest Projects is for young people who are beginners, advanced, or anything in between.
  • We love to see works in progress, so projects don’t need to be completed to be registered.
Four young people and the tech project they have created.
Two young people at a tech showcase event.
  • Projects can be registered in six categories: Scratch, games, web, mobile apps, hardware, and advanced programming.
  • Creators can choose topics including community, environment, health, fun, art, education, and identity.
  • Judges evaluate projects based on their coolness, complexity, design, usability, and presentation, and give personalised feedback about each project.
  • Project registration opens on 6 February and stays open until 26 April.
  • The livestream event on 6 June will celebrate all the creators’ projects and reveal the judges’ favourites.

Creators who took part in 2022 told us that the coolest thing about Coolest Projects Global is that “so many people around the world get to see and appreciate your projects” and that “anyone can have a go”.

Four young people working together on a tech project.

What makes a coolest project?

Coolest Projects creators make digital tech projects that matter to them and that they want to share with the world. Creators have all different levels of skill — some register their very first coding project, and others have taken part in Coolest Projects for years. We welcome every project from every young person in Coolest Projects. With six project categories from Scratch to hardware, and project topics including environment, health, and fun, creators come up with all kinds of cool ideas.

Two young people working together on a tech project.

Take a look at the online showcase gallery to see the projects young makers shared in the most recent showcase, including an app about recycling, a smiley face game, a trash-collecting boat, and a game to help you eat more healthily. 

What’s next?

Registration opens on 6 February 2023, and creators can get started on their ideas and make their projects any time.

The post Coolest Projects Global will be back in 2023 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.