Questions we are
asked every week.
If your question is not here, email inquiry@gqc.org. For eligibility edge cases, write to the city desk on the Contact page. Nothing on this page is a substitute for the Terms or the published rubric.
Who, when, how.
- Who can enter GQC 2026?
- Students aged 14–22 on 1 March 2026, currently enrolled in secondary school or an undergraduate programme, or within twelve months of completing either. Teams of two to five. Read the four rules on Eligibility.
- Can I enter if I am 13, or 23?
- No. The age window is inclusive of 14 and 22 on the day applications open, and we do not grant exceptions. If you will turn 14 after 1 March 2026 you should wait for the 2027 cycle. If you turned 23 before 1 March you are outside the programme, even if you are still enrolled as an undergraduate.
- Can a mixed school-and-university team apply?
- Yes, as long as every member meets the age and enrolment rules. Mixed teams are common: a sixth-former and two first-year undergraduates, for example. Name a corresponding member who will receive all official mail.
- Do I have to live in Hong Kong, London or New York?
- No. You apply to the edition that is geographically closest or most practical for you. Shortlisted teams travel to that city for the showcase; GQC and the host cover travel and accommodation. Remote-only participation in a showcase is not offered, because the public exhibit and the live defence are the point of the week.
- What is the deadline, and is it flexible?
- Applications open 2 March 2026 and close 22 May 2026 at 23:59 BST. The close is hard. We do not accept late uploads, even if your school’s exam calendar collides. Start the form early; the video and the 500-word brief are the parts that take time.
- Is there an application fee?
- A £30 platform fee per team. It is waived in full for schools on the UK POLAR4 quintile-one register, US Pell-eligible lists, or teams applying from a World Bank low- or lower-middle-income country. Any other team may request a waiver in the form; we do not ask why.
- Can I submit work that already went to another competition?
- Yes, if you declare it and if the GQC version is a substantial extension — new primary research, a working prototype that did not exist before, or a redesigned intervention. Copying a previous science-fair board into our evidence pack is not an extension. GQC is not a qualifier for Regeneron ISEF or any other fair; see The Field.
- What language can we work in?
- The application, evidence pack and live defence are in English. Clinics can provide live interpretation if you ask at shortlist. Source interviews may be in any language; provide an English summary of each transcript so the jury can read them.
What “good” looks like.
Juries are not looking for a miniature startup. They are looking for a team that can frame a real problem, gather evidence that would survive a seminar, propose something that follows from that evidence, and defend it without theatre. A strong Digital & AI entry has a prototype a juror can actually run, a five-page technical note that admits failure modes, and a one-page ethics note. A strong Brand & Communication entry has a named audience, a behaviour it intends to change, and some evidence that the message moved anyone at all.
Work that scores poorly usually fails in one of four ways: the problem is a slogan (“make education better”); the research is a literature dump with no primary contact; the prototype is a slide; or the impact pathway assumes the world will adopt the idea because it is good. Read the rubric and the track pages before you write the 500-word brief. If you want a pre-application read, use Early-Stage Feedback — it is independent of judging and does not affect shortlisting.
Typical 2025 briefs that advanced included a clinic-triage tool built with a public dataset and two practising nurses; a school-library “quiet hours” campaign piloted across four campuses; and a refillable-bottle scheme negotiated with cafés around three Bronx schools. None of those teams claimed to have “solved” the problem. They showed they had spoken to the people affected and had tested one intervention.
After you are shortlisted.
- Is the Learning Experience mandatory?
- For open-round shortlisted teams, yes. The eleven weeks are the programme. Skipping clinics to “just pitch” is not an option; the evidence pack is a deliverable, not a decoration. Invitational teams follow a compressed version of the same curriculum. Details: The Learning Experience.
- Who pays for travel to Hong Kong, London or New York?
- GQC and the city host. Shortlisted teams receive a travel and accommodation bursary for the showcase week. Global Finalists receive a further bursary to New York in December. You do not need to raise a separate travel fund as a condition of taking part.
- Are city exhibit days open to the public?
- Yes. Opening symposia and Saturday exhibit days are free. Jury days are pass-only, for competing teams and accredited press. See the Events calendar for venues and times.
- Do we get a certificate even if we do not win?
- Every shortlisted team receives a Certificate of Participation. City winners, Global Finalists and prize-winners receive a Certificate of Achievement. Each certificate has a unique ID and a QR code that resolves to /cert/verify.html. Read what a certificate attests to before you put it on a university application — it attests to completion and, where relevant, a prize, not to ISEF affiliation or a professional licence.
- How do teachers or parents get involved?
- A teacher, lecturer or programme leader supplies the one short reference in the application. Adult coaches do not present and are not listed as team members. Parents may attend public events. For school partnerships and Invitational nominations, see Become a Partner.
- Is GQC a science-fair qualifier? Are you affiliated with ISEF?
- No. GQC is not a Regeneron ISEF affiliate fair, not a Conrad qualifying event, and not a FIRST or Odyssey of the Mind chapter. Students often do more than one programme in the same year; that is their choice. We describe the landscape honestly on The Field so families can pick what they actually need.
- How do I verify a certificate I have been shown?
- Open Verify Certificate, paste the URL from the QR code or the certificate ID, and keep the
v=checksum intact. Staff issuing pages are not public.