Wege Prize is a team-based international student design competition, based on the circular economy
Wege Prize is an annual international circular design competition that ignites game-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college/university students around the world to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries, and use design thinking principles to develop solutions for the world's most wicked problems. Student teams contend for $65,000 (USD) in total cash
05/21/2026
Reliving the energy and connective nature of the 2026 Awards!
We've got a belly full of 🔥 from all of the incredible ideas our finalist teams brought to the stage this year—and we're already looking forward to Wege Prize 2027 👀
📸: Ellen Dzuibek / Ferris State University
05/15/2026
Congratulations to the winners of 2026! 🙌 🎉
To these incredible students: we're humbled by your dedication, inspired by your work, and beyond excited to see what your futures hold.💚
05/15/2026
The 2026 Awards are here! 🎉 Join us via livestream at wegeprize.org starting at 10 AM EDT to see our five finalist teams present their bold ideas to transform the way we produce /consume and ignite game-changing solutions for the of the future! 🔄
🔦Spotlight on: 2026 Finalist team Egret Pads 🙌
05/06/2026
Let's create a restorative, waste-free 🙌 🔄
Join us virtually on May 15 for the 2026 Awards, where university students from around the world will present their bold ideas to transform the way we produce /consume and ignite game-changing solutions for the future! 🔥
Admission is free—RSVP to attend at bit.ly/2026WegePrizeAwards
🔦Spotlight on: 2026 Finalist team Agri Nova 🙌
04/27/2026
Passionate about creating a restorative, waste-free ? 🔄
Join us virtually on May 15 for the 2026 Awards, where university students from around the world will present their bold ideas to transform the way we produce/consume and ignite game-changing solutions for the future! 🔥
Admission is free—RSVP to attend at bit.ly/2026WegePrizeAwards
04/23/2026
"Many design competitions pad the resume of designers or stroke the egos of manufacturers, but Wege Prize creates ideas that might change the world."
Office Insight explores how the finalists in 2026—all hailing from Africa for the first time in the competition's history—are highlighting how the continent is in the middle of a revolution that most of the Western world hasn’t noticed yet.
"The continent’s waste management market was valued at $21.7 billion in 2025 and is growing at roughly 5% a year. Entrepreneurs across Africa are turning plastics, organic waste, and e-waste into value streams that are generating jobs, cutting emissions and building supply chains that actually make sense for the communities they serve."
04/22/2026
Our Power, Our Planet 🌍🌎🌏
This , we're joining EarthDay.org in celebrating the power of taking action where it matters most: right in our own backyards!
Our 2026 finalists are rooting their solutions in a desire to lift up the communities and environments that raised them—yet each has a clear potential to scale beyond their own borders.
And beyond their ideas themselves, these teams are cultivating a mindset of collaborative disruption and cooperative problem solving that they’ll carry with them wherever their journeys lead them next—helping power the paradigm shift we need in the face of mounting global challenges. 🤝
Join us on May 15 for a closer look at their ideas and impact at the 2026 Wege Prize Awards, streaming live at wegeprize[dot]org.
👇 Register to attend at the link in the comments 👇
