Students
Challenge Programme
Push yourself for an ambitious learning experience
Challenge Programme
The IDEA League Challenge Programme is an extra-curricular course for ambitious and talented students of our partner universities.
It is geared towards students interested in future leadership roles, both in the public and private sector, who are drawn to issues at the intersection of technology and society. We’re talking about things like leadership, politics, entrepreneurship, and policy making.
The programme consists of four complementary modules, hosted alternately at our partner universities over a series of long weekends. Participants, typically third year bachelor’s or first year master’s students, will take part in a design-oriented programme. That means that you will not only analyse problems, but you will also get to design and present solutions. Since the programme is focused on real world problems, we will involve practitioners in our modules.
DATES AND TOPICS OF THE FOUR MODULES:
Challenge Programme 2026-2027
TU Delft & Politecnico di Milano
A political perspective: stakeholder landscapes, wicked problems, and governance challenges.
01 – 04 October 2026, Lecco
ETH Zurich
An analytical perspective: technical solutions, system resilience, and potential societal impacts.
15 – 17 January 2027, Zurich
Chalmers
An economic perspective: balancing costs and societal benefits through moral judgement.
26 – 28 February 2027, Gothenburg
RWTH Aachen
A design thinking and open innovation perspective: co-creating stakeholder dialogue
16 – 18 April 2027, Aachen
19 April 2027, Delft
Eligibility
3rd year Bachelor and 1st year Master students enrolled at IDEA League partner universities throughout the duration of the programme.
Application Documents
- CV
- Motivational letter
- Transcript of Records
- Reference Letter
Application Deadline
31 July 2026
14:00 CET
Financial Matters
There are no additional tuition fees; successful candidates will be awarded a travel stipend of up to 1.000€ to encourage and facilitate more sustainable modes of transport.
FAQ
The programme is open for students enrolled at one of the IDEA League partner universities, in either their 3rd year of Bachelors or 1st year of Masters, throughout the duration of the programme.
This programme is aimed at promising, typically 3rd year Bachelor and 1st year Master students, who show special interest in entrepreneurship, business and policymaking, a general motivation to challenge and propel their skills and knowledge as well as excellent grades.
The programme is open to applicants from all academic backgrounds, particularly to those who can demonstrate evidence of multidisciplinary work in entrepreneurship/leadership/business/politics/policymaking.
The stipend of up to 1.000€ is aimed at supporting participants for their travel to and from the Challenge Programme events. It is particularly aimed at encouraging sustainable travel.
The application process is handled through the SiROP platform, see the Apply Now button above.
Yes, accommodation will be provided from the hosting universities to the participants of the programme for the time of the events.
We plan to inform all applicants about the results of their application no later than 5th September.
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