Resources
The contest provides a rich ecosystem of guidance, templates, and support for students to learn and compete with confidence.
Comprehensive contest rules, submission requirements, judging criteria, timelines, and appendices including Integrity Pledge, Mentor Guidance Statement, Scoring Sheet, and Ethics Checklist.
Mentors must sign a guidance statement confirming boundaries and ethical conduct. Mentors provide advice only and cannot complete work on behalf of students.
Business plan structure, pitch deck format, prototype evidence requirements, and AI technical note template.
Everything your team needs to prepare for registration, preliminary review and final submission.
Required materials are marked accordingly. All submission materials must be written in English.
A 500-word summary of your AI-driven business concept, target users, and expected impact.
Document outlining each member's role (technical, business, social responsibility) and the Team Leader designation.
Signed by all students and a guardian confirming original work, proper citation, and compliance with contest rules.
If your team has an adult mentor, submit the signed Mentor Guidance Statement confirming advisory-only involvement.
5-15 pages PDF covering problem statement, AI-driven solution, market analysis, business model, competitive analysis, technical approach, and an AI Ethics Statement (150-200 words).
Evidence of a working prototype: screenshots, short video (1-3 min MP4), or interactive demo link. Must demonstrate foundational functionality that is verifiable and presentable.
Survey data, interview excerpts, or user testing results supporting your business idea. All personal data must be anonymized. Key findings summarized in proposal with raw data in appendix.
1 page or table covering models/algorithms used, training/data sources, data privacy and bias mitigation, and technical limitations.
10-15 slides (PDF or PPTX) highlighting problem, solution, AI technology, market opportunity, business model, traction, and team. Used for live presentation.
Early wireframe, mockup, or concept sketch showing your planned product interface or system architecture.
A short summary of your target market, identified pain points, and initial competitive landscape analysis.
Brief overview of how your project addresses data privacy, bias, and social impact considerations.
Code snippets, public repository links, extra charts, or a short video pitch. Do not include school names or personal names to maintain blind review anonymity.
File naming: TeamID_DocumentType_ProjectTitle.file (e.g., T7_Proposal_AI4Good.pdf). Do not include school names or personal names in filenames or documents.
Follow these format and naming requirements to ensure your submissions are processed correctly.
TeamID_DocumentType_ProjectTitle.extensione.g., T7_Proposal_AI4Good.pdfAll files must follow the standard naming pattern. Do not include school names or personal names.
Teams are strongly encouraged to work with an adult mentor (21+). Mentors can be teachers, coaches, parents, or industry professionals who guide learning without completing any work on behalf of students.
Mentors advise, guide, and teach students but should not write any portion of the submission, develop code, create designs, or produce deliverables. All decisions and final work must be completed by students.
All mentors sign the official statement confirming boundaries and ethical conduct. Mentors must not participate during official presentations or contact judges to influence outcomes.
Mentors prioritize skill development - technical, entrepreneurial, research, and communication - along with teamwork, time management, and resilience. The goal is student growth and learning.
Guidelines for AI tool usage, intellectual property, data privacy, and ethical conduct.
Transparency and responsible practices are expected throughout the contest.
Teams may use AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Midjourney, etc.) as part of their development process. Judges will not deduct points for responsible AI tool usage.
All AI-generated or AI-assisted content must be explicitly disclosed. Include a section listing which tools were used and how they contributed. Cite each AI output with the tool name, version, date of use, and the specific prompt or task. Treat AI outputs like any other source.
Students must fully understand everything they submit. During Q&A sessions, judges may ask about any aspect of the project. Inability to explain AI-assisted work would raise integrity concerns.
Transparency is non-negotiable. Failing to disclose or cite AI-generated content is treated as plagiarism and may result in disqualification. Submissions are verified with AI-content labeling checks across all rounds.
All submitted work must be original. Proper citation is required for any referenced research, third-party code libraries, datasets, or external resources. Every team member and a guardian must sign the Integrity Pledge confirming original work, proper citation, and rule compliance.
Submissions undergo automated plagiarism detection, AI-content labeling verification, and originality checks across all contest rounds.
Participating teams retain complete ownership of their work and intellectual property. OTLF does not claim ownership of ideas, code, designs, or project outputs.
OTLF may use team name, project title, abstract, and brief excerpts for promotional and educational purposes. Full reports will be used only after team consent.
All data used in your project must come from legal, publicly available sources. No unauthorized collection of personal information is permitted under any circumstances.
Any user research data (surveys, interviews, testing results) must be anonymized before inclusion in submissions. Remove all personally identifiable information. Projects that handle user data must implement appropriate privacy protections including data masking and secure storage practices.
Complete the self-assessment before submission, covering your AI ethics statement, bias mitigation measures, transparency and explainability, human oversight provisions, and environmental impact considerations.
Any evidence of unauthorized data collection, privacy violations, or misuse of personal information may result in immediate disqualification from the contest.
OTLF may host webinars on AI fundamentals, business planning, and pitching. Early registration often includes a live Q&A session and recorded resources for teams who cannot attend.
Organizers are committed to fast, friendly assistance throughout the contest cycle.
Contact yef@otlf.ca for rules, submission, or technical questions. Typical response within 48 hours.
Submission portal messaging for upload issues and system troubleshooting.
OTLF may host webinars on AI fundamentals, business planning, and pitching. Early registration includes live Q&A sessions.
On-call staff during pitch days to resolve connectivity or presentation issues.
The contest is supported by a collaborative network of schools, universities, community organizations, and industry leaders. New partnerships are welcome.
Outstanding Teenager Leadership Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit founded in 2017, provides leadership and oversight for the contest.
Scotia Wealth Management sponsors all contest awards, supporting youth innovation and entrepreneurship excellence.
Scholars and professors, engineers and entrepreneurs from tech companies, and advisors from investment institutions who evaluate and guide teams.
Interested in partnering or sponsoring? Contact yef@otlf.ca.
Answers to common questions about eligibility, submissions, AI tools, and live events. If your question is not answered here, contact yef@otlf.ca.
The contest is open to current middle and high school students aged 11-18, enrolled in grades 6-12 or equivalent programs (IB, AP, A-Levels, OSSD, public, private, international, etc.) from any country.
Students must not have graduated before the contest year. Every participant must be part of a team. Parental or guardian consent is required as part of registration.
Teams must consist of 5-8 students with a Team Leader plus members covering technical, business, and social impact roles. Teams may be cross-school or international.
Once your team is registered, you cannot add or change members except under special circumstances (e.g., serious illness) at organizer discretion.
Yes, teams are highly encouraged to have a mentor (21+). Mentors support and advise the team but within clear limits - work and ideas must remain student-driven.
Mentors sign a guidance statement, cannot write content on behalf of students, and are not eligible for student prizes.
Core materials: a written project proposal (5-15 pages PDF), product prototype or MVP evidence (video demo or interactive demo), and market research/user validation data.
Teams also submit an AI technical note (1 page), required integrity forms, and optionally a pitch deck (10-15 slides). All materials must be in English.
Yes, AI tools may be used but you must disclose and cite all AI-generated content or assistance. Failing to cite AI assistance is considered plagiarism.
Students must understand everything they submit. Judges will not deduct points for using AI tools, as long as you have original input and are transparent.
Before the deadline, yes - you can re-upload files on the portal. Only the last submitted version will be evaluated.
Once the deadline passes, your entry is locked for judging. If you advance, you are expected to refine and improve your project for later rounds.
The primary support channel is email at yef@otlf.ca with typical 48-hour response.
Organizers may offer webinars, office hours, a community forum, and technical assistance during live pitch days.
Judges' decisions are final and not subject to appeal. The contest employs blind reviews, standardized rubrics, outlier score removal, and conflict-of-interest rules.
If you suspect a procedural error, you may request a review within one week of results.
Semi-finals are online. As many team members as possible should attend (minimum one presenter required).
Finals are in-person in the Greater Toronto Area on June 13, 2026. At least one student must attend. Travel support letters can be provided for visas.
Participating teams retain full ownership of their work and intellectual property. The contest organizers do not claim ownership of your ideas or project outputs.
OTLF may use team name, project title, abstract, and excerpts for promotional and educational purposes, but not full reports without consent.