Deadline: March 11, 2026
Applications are open for the NATO STO Women and Girls in Science Challenge 2026. The Women & Girls in Science Challenge invites young women and girls to submit visionary research proposals addressing pressing challenges in the field of defence research. Launched every year on 11 February, in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the WGS is a NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO) diversity of thought initiative.
This year’s challenge introduces a new and innovative foresight approach that asks participants to explore fictional scenarios of disruption that test the resilience of the modern world. Although the scenarios are imagined, they are rooted in real-world dependencies and emerging risks, encouraging participants to think creatively, analytically, and strategically about the future of security and defence research.
The five scenarios are:
- A Day Without Space, exploring the consequences of losing access to space-based capabilities such as communication and observation;
- A Day Without Power, examining widespread energy disruption and its cascading effects;
- A Day Without the Internet, imagining the impact of a prolonged loss of global connectivity and digital services;
- A Day Without Antibiotics, confronting a scenario where antibiotic supply is halted and countries find themselves unable to treat common bacterial infections; and
- A Day Without Boots on the Ground, considering security challenges in an extreme environment where physical military presence is no longer possible.
Benefits
- A unique experience to share your research ideas that impact global security with NATO leadership. All 12 finalists will receive formal recognition from the NATO Chief Scientist, and the three selected winners will receive the opportunity to visit the Centre for Maritime Research Experimentation (CMRE) in la Spezia, Italy.
- Finalists will also have the opportunity to join STEM Forward, a community that brings together professionals and experts from the STEM ecosystem for the benefit of scientific collaboration and enhancement of the NATO S&T knowledge base.
Eligibility
- Open to young women who are university students (bachelor, master, PhD), early career researchers, or simply interested in starting a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and/or defence.
- Applicants must be young women aged 18-35 years, affiliated with a university and nationals of NATO countries.
- Proposals must aim to answer the question “How would your research idea provide a solution for one of the five fictional foresight scenarios?”.
- Applications must be submitted in English.
Application
This form will ask participants to indicate:
- A title for their proposal
- The chosen fictional foresight scenario
- Relevant background information
- The proposal’s relevance to defence and security
- Clear scientific objectives
- Key scientific topics to be addressed, and
- The expected exploitation potential and societal impact
The deadline for submissions is 11 March 2026, 23:59 CET. Late entries will not be considered.
For more information, visit NATO STO Women and Girls in Science Challenge.
