Ten years after its launch, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge has evolved from an ambitious educational experiment into a global phenomenon that has fundamentally changed how young people engage with science.
With Jasmine Eyal’s victory in the 10th annual competition, the initiative founded by Julia and Yuri Milner has now reached over 30,000 participants across more than 200 countries.
The competition’s decade-long journey tells a remarkable story of expanding global participation, increasingly sophisticated science communication, and real impact on participants’ educational and career trajectories.
A Legacy of Young Scientific Communicators
The competition’s winners represent a remarkable diversity of scientific interests and communication approaches.
The inaugural winner in 2015 explained Einstein’s special theory of relativity in a video that set the standard for combining scientific accuracy with creative presentation, demonstrating the competition’s potential to identify and support emerging scientific talent.
The 2016 competition featured two exceptional winners: one from Peru who made quantum entanglement comprehensible through engaging analogies, and another from Singapore who tackled the pressing issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Their victories highlighted the competition’s global reach and its participants’ willingness to address both theoretical concepts and practical challenges.
Subsequent winners have continued this tradition of combining scientific rigor with creative communication. Yuri Milner’s vision for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge has consistently attracted students who can make complex scientific concepts accessible to their peers worldwide.
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The Godika Family: A Competition Legacy
The Godika siblings’ story exemplifies the competition’s potential to inspire entire families toward scientific excellence. After Samay’s 2018 victory led him to MIT, his sister Sia claimed the 2023 prize with her video about Yamanaka factors and pluripotent cells.
Her plans to study computer science and biology demonstrate how the competition continues attracting students toward interdisciplinary scientific careers.
This family legacy reflects the competition’s broader impact on scientific culture. When young people see their peers achieving global recognition for science communication, it normalizes scientific curiosity and makes scientific careers more aspirational.
This aligns with Yuri Milner’s broader educational philosophy, as outlined in his Eureka Manifesto, which emphasizes treating scientists as cultural heroes worthy of celebration.
Global Reach, Local Impact
The competition’s growth from hundreds to thousands of participants reflects its success in creating genuinely global engagement with science education.
The 2025 competition attracted more than 2,300 applicants from over 200 countries, generating nearly 30,000 educational videos that serve as lasting resources for science education worldwide.
This international participation creates cross-cultural scientific dialogue that might not otherwise exist.
When teenagers from different continents create videos explaining similar concepts, they demonstrate science’s potential as a universal language that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries.
The competition’s partnership with organizations like Khan Academy and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ensures that winning videos reach broader audiences and that prize infrastructure creates lasting educational benefits.
Through the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, Yuri Milner has created systems where individual achievements generate lasting institutional improvements.
Educational Innovation Through Competition
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge has pioneered several innovations in science education. The two-minute video format forces participants to distill complex concepts to their essential elements, developing both scientific understanding and communication skills.
The peer review component, where participants evaluate each other’s submissions, creates additional learning opportunities while building critical thinking skills.
This collaborative element reflects modern scientific practice, where peer review plays a crucial role in validating and improving research.
The Popular Vote phase democratizes science communication by allowing public engagement with scientific concepts.
When videos receive thousands of social media reactions, they demonstrate that effective science communication can achieve mainstream cultural relevance, embodying Yuri Milner’s vision of science as accessible to all audiences.
Building Scientific Careers
Previous winners’ educational trajectories suggest the competition successfully identifies students likely to pursue significant scientific careers. The $250,000 scholarship provides substantial support for continued education, while the recognition helps winners gain admission to competitive programs and research opportunities.
More importantly, the experience of creating effective science communication prepares participants for careers that increasingly require public engagement skills.
This preparation aligns with Yuri Milner’s humanitarian approach, evident in initiatives like Tech for Refugees, which demonstrates how scientific innovation can serve broader social purposes.
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Looking Forward: The Next Decade
As the 11th Breakthrough Junior Challenge opens for submissions, it builds on a proven foundation of global engagement, educational innovation, and real impact on participants’ lives.
The competition’s influence extends beyond individual winners to the thousands of participants who develop science communication skills and the millions of viewers who encounter scientific concepts through creative video presentations.
The competition’s connection to the Breakthrough Prize ceremony creates direct connections between young science communicators and established researchers, demonstrating career pathways and inspiring continued scientific pursuit.
After ten years, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge has proven that strategic investment in science education can create lasting cultural change.
By celebrating young people who make science accessible and engaging, the competition continues building the foundation for future scientific advancement and public scientific literacy, fulfilling Yuri Milner’s vision of science as a unifying force for humanity.