Canada - Brilliant Blue 2025

Get ready to make waves in ocean innovation!

The Brilliant Blue Challenge is your chance to team up, get creative, and tackle real-world ocean challenges. Whether you’re exploring marine renewable energy, designing autonomous systems, or improving ocean health, this is where your ideas can shape a sustainable future.

Join us in Halifax on June 7-8th 2025

Compete for 5000$ in prizes for Canadians teams!

Join in!

Nova Scotia Partnership

Thank you to the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for Partnering with the Brilliant Blue Challenge for the 2025 year! As part of this partnership, along with the competition being hosted out of Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia, we will be offering some exclusive programs to Nova Scotia Educators, Students, and district members. We plan to offer the following programs, stay tuned for more details:

Curriculum Alignment
Teacher Training & Certification
Intro to the Blue Economy Workshop
Project-Based Course
Summer Camp Program
$50,000 In Project Funding For Teams

Learn More

Challenge Categories

Marine Renewable Energy

Teams will conceptualize a way to generate power that is sustainable and environmentally friendly

Marine Autonomous Systems

Teams will propose solutions and prototype a system that helps perform tasks or explore the depths of the oceans

Healthy Marine Life

Teams will develop a solution that improves the quality of ocean ecosystems

Ready to Make Waves?

Don’t miss out! Register by May 4th to join the Brilliant Blue Challenge. Create a team of up to 5 students and compete in Marine Renewable Energy, Marine Autonomous Systems, or Healthy Marine Life.

Get started now – the ocean needs your ideas!

FAQ’s

Have questions? We've got answers! Whether you're curious about the Brilliant Blue Initiative, our competitions, sustainability efforts, or how to get involved, this FAQ section is here to help. Explore the most commonly asked questions and find everything you need to know about being part of the Brilliant Blue community. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, feel free to reach out—we’re always happy to help!

Brilliant Blue is a global competition, conceptualized by Brilliant Labs, that challenges students ages 12-18 to develop innovative solutions to ocean challenges in one of three categories: Marine Renewable Energy, Autonomous Marine Systems, and Healthy Marine Life.

The top teams will receive prizes, mentorship, and the opportunity to present their solutions to a panel of experts. Brilliant Blue is an exciting opportunity for students to make a real difference in the ocean and to learn about the blue economy. For more details, please refer to the competition guide that is shared with each team.

Registration Deadline: September 4 May 2025.

Proposal Submission Deadline: 4 May 2025.

Submission of logbooks, business plans, and any software solutions: 23 May 2025

Competition Date: 7-8 June 2025

Yes, teams can be formed of 2 to 5 middle and high school students of any school as long as they fall under the age group of 12 to 18 years, have two adults as their advisors, and complete the registration.

There is no limit to how innovative a project could be. The purpose of the competition is to challenge students to come up with realistic solutions to real-world problems that are currently facing our ocean.

As part of Brilliant Blue’s core value of inspiring high school students to solve real-world problems, Brilliant Labs is offering all teams the chance to connect with mentors who are industry experts in one or more of the competition categories. These mentors will offer advice, counsel, and technical feedback whenever needed. Please see the students’ mentorship guide for more details.

For everyone’s safety, advisors are supposed to be adults from your surroundings (teachers or parents). In the case that the advisor you have selected does not fall under any of the above categories, at least one parent or a guardian of a team member should consent to this by writing to blue@brilliantlabs.ca.

On the competition day, teams will be doing 2 types of presentations:

Technical presentation of the project, including a live demonstration of the prototypes.
The pitch of the business plan that they have developed.

Judges will be evaluating you on 6 main aspects:

Presentation Skills
Technical Skills
Working Prototype
Business Plan
Adherence to the Challenge Guidelines
Adherence to Brilliant Blue’s objectives

For more details, please refer to the competition guidelines.

All questions and inquiries can be forwarded to blue@brilliantlabs.ca.

Canada’s Role in the Brilliant Blue Challenge

Canada is a key player in the global blue economy, contributing over $31.65 billion to its GDP and supporting nearly 300,000 jobs. The Brilliant Blue Challenge taps into this growing sector by engaging youth in STEM education and innovation focused on marine conservation and the sustainable use of ocean resources. This initiative aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, encouraging young leaders to develop solutions that support ocean health and sustainable economic growth.