STEM stands for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics". Your project should employ one/multiple of these disciplines in its execution.

You shouldn't be deterred by the STEM requirement— many students are already applying STEM in their projects without even knowing it! For example, if your project involves any sort of design, prototyping, research, or surveys, you're applying STEM!

By place-based, we mean problems & solutions that are specific or tailored to a defined place. For example, a place-based solution to plastic pollution may look very different in Hawaiʻi versus Indonesia. Consider the scope, or scale, of your place/community: your school, your neighborhood, your island, the State of Hawaiʻi, etc.

In addition to individual project work, qualified applicants will be expected to participate in two scheduled Zoom events (an introductory project "talk story" and a final presentation) and weekly check-ins on Discord. We expect the time commitment to be around 5 hours per week.

Any Hawaiʻi based middle or high school student is encouraged to apply! You don't need to have any particular background or skillset— we want to hear about your passion for uplifting a community you identify with.

A few examples of problems you might want to consider solving for might be homelessness, climate change, the transition to renewable energy, ocean pollution, cyberbullying, a disconnection from ʻāina, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, we invite you to discover important problems that are specific to your community.