The Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch competitions challenge you to research an important problem and pitch your research to a panel of judges. Funding is awarded to support teams that demonstrate the most thorough understanding of their chosen problem to develop a solution.
The competition encourages students to research an important problem thoroughly before attempting to solve it. By participating, students learn how to examine a problem from many different perspectives, which helps them develop their research and analysis skills. This foundational approach is expected to lead to better ideas and strategies for creating impactful solutions.
Students can research problems in a range of possible problem spaces, including from the list of topics below. For the 2026 academic year, themes will align with the Global Futures themes as outlined by the University, with an option for other focus areas of student interest. The Futures themes form part of the Waterloo at 100 strategic vision and plan and are listed here:
- Societal Futures
- Health Futures
- Sustainable Futures (including Climate)
- Technological Futures
- Economic Futures
- Other areas of interest
For context on the Global Futures, including a description of each area of focus please see more from the university.
Register your interest for the upcoming Problem Pitch Competition.
Applications will be reviewed by the Problem Lab Team, with the selected semi-finalist teams notified to move forward in the competition. Each student team is asked to clearly identify with problem area they are interested in with their application.
The online application form shows which category to select;
It is recommended that students read the Problem Lab methodology prior to entering the competition, and to leverage this very helpful Problem Lab Research Guide to begin researching. We are grateful to Larry Smith (Founder of the Problem Lab) for the methodology, and to Rachel Figueiredo (Librarian) and Alyssa Roussy (Co-op student) for creating the research guide.
The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students.
For more information, contact problemlab@uwaterloo.ca.
Applications for this Winter 2026 term will close Sunday, February 8, 2026 by 5 p.m. EST.