GLOBAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CHALLENGE
2026-2027
Find a real problem.
Solve it with your team.
Pitch it in Lisbon.
The Global Entrepreneurship Challenge is a free, school-year program for high school teams, created by the Scarsdale High School Design Lab with Hudson Lab Ventures. Students interview people in their own community, build and test solutions, and pitch them to entrepreneurs, investors, and executives.
TEAMS OF 2-6 • OCTOBER TO APRIL • FREE ONLINE • LISBON FINALE, APRIL 16–19
Sponsors & Organizers:
WHAT STUDENTS LEARN
Five skills that go with you into any room
Every Hudson Lab Ventures program builds the same five skills.
1
Find problems worth solving
Listen first. Ask the questions nobody else is asking.
2
Collaborate
Do your best work with people you just met, from anywhere.
3
Develop and test creative solutions
Build it small, test it with real people, make it better.
4
Communicate to stakeholders
Pitch it so an investor and your neighbor both get it.
5
Take initiative and ownership
Nobody hands you the next step. You take it.
THE ROADMAP
October to April, one step at a time
Each year's challenge connects to one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Live sessions are at 8:00 am New York time and recorded for every time zone. Teams do the rest at school.
APRIL 16 TO 19, 2027 · LISBON
From classroom project to boardroom pitch
Teams arrive with an idea and leave with a pitch that holds up under pressure. Over three working days, real innovators coach every team. Students pitch, take feedback, rewrite their story, and pitch again, with tougher questions each round. On the final day, they present the way they would to a company's Board of Directors.
Hudson Lab Ventures students have pitched to a company's Board of Directors. In Lisbon, your students learn how.
Teams arrive Friday and fly home Monday evening. Schools or families cover travel, and each team travels with a school chaperone. Teams that can't travel pitch online at Virtual Pitch Day.
FOR EDUCATORS
Educators and business leaders, on the same side of the table
Teachers mentor their teams all year. In Lisbon, they coach side by side with entrepreneurs, investors, and executives. Teachers bring what they know about how students learn. Business leaders bring what they know about the working world. Students get the benefit of both.
Time: about an hour a week (about 4 hours a month).
Your role
Mentor a team of 2 to 6 students
Join the live sessions with your team, or watch the recordings together
Give your team time to work, in class or as a club
Review your team's posts and give feedback twice a season
What we provide
Curriculum and session plans, ready to use
Live sessions led by the Scarsdale High School Design Lab and Hudson Lab Ventures
Team challenges that get students out interviewing
A network of GEC educators around the world
Want to go through the GEC process yourself? Join the Summer 2027 Educator Innovation Program in Lisbon this July. Learn more →
FAQ
Questions teachers ask
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The online program is free. Schools or families cover travel to Lisbon.
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No. Curiosity and teamwork are enough.
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No. Educators in any subject area can mentor a team.
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Yes. Each team needs at least one faculty mentor.
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Every session is recorded, so teams can watch together when it suits them.
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They pitch online at Virtual Pitch Day.
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Yes. We keep materials short and plain, and we judge students' thinking, not their English.
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Students can't message each other privately. Educators approve every post before other schools see it, we show only a team's city and country, and we never share student names.
REGISTRATION CLOSES OCTOBER 5 EACH YEAR
Bring a team in 2027–28
Wait list only for 2026–27 registration. Tell us about your school and we'll reach out when next season opens.
Summer 2027
Educator Innovation Program
July 2027
Educators may apply to join a one-week summer innovation program in Lisbon, hosted in collaboration with Unicorn Factory Lisboa. You’ll be able to dive into the GEC innovation process as a learner and collaborate with educators from around the world.
