Falling Walls Lab
Falling Walls Foundation
Global 3-minute pitch competition for students and early-career researchers/entrepreneurs. Winners of local Labs (incl. Falling Walls Lab Accra, Ghana) get a funded trip to the Global Finale in Berlin each November. Free to enter; 2026 season closes 15 Sept 2026.
Verified today · verified by our team · Official page
Create a free student account to check your eligibility and get reminders.
Eligibility
- Who can apply
- All nationalities
- Education required
- Undergraduate enrolled
- Age
- from 18 (At least 18 when applying; no upper age limit)
- Fields
- Any field of study
- Language
- Pitch delivered in English
- Also required
- Currently enrolled student, OR bachelor's completed within the last 10 years (2016+), master's within 7 years (2019+), or PhD within 5 years (2021+)
- Has not pitched at a Falling Walls Lab before
- Apply to one Lab (local Labs may not restrict by nationality)
About this opportunity
Falling Walls Lab is an international forum where students, early-career researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals pitch a research project, business idea or social initiative in three minutes. Local Labs run in dozens of countries, including Falling Walls Lab Accra, Ghana (the 2026 edition took place on 5 June 2026 at WACCBIP, University of Ghana). Each Lab winner receives travel and accommodation to the Global Finale in Berlin in November plus a Falling Walls Science Summit ticket; the top three 'Breakthrough Winners' also receive cash prizes.
Applicants must be 18 or older and either currently enrolled at an academic institution or hold a bachelor's (2016 or later), master's (2019 or later) or PhD (2021 or later). No upper age limit, no nationality restriction, and entry is free. The 2026 season runs 1 February to 15 September 2026; each Lab sets its own earlier deadline.
- Level
- Undergraduate, Master's, PhD, Postdoc, Early career
- Where
- Multiple countries
- Duration
- One-day local Lab (3-minute pitch); winners attend the Global Finale in Berlin in November
- Number of awards
- One winner per local Lab (about 100 finalists in Berlin); top 3 Breakthrough Winners receive cash prizes
- Difficulty
- Medium · about 2 weeks to prepare
Funding
Prize
- travel
- accommodation
- prize money
Free to enter. Local Lab winners: trip to the Global Finale in Berlin (travel and accommodation) plus Science Summit ticket. Top 3 finalists receive a cash prize (amount not stated on FAQ).
What you will need
- CV / résumé
- Other documents
Online application form (short description of the breakthrough idea) plus CV in PDF.
Track this application and eStudent360 turns the list into a checklist and, with Plus, a dated plan that works back from the deadline.