UTM Virtual Sustainability Case Competition 2026

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The International Education Centre is excited to partner with The Institute for Management and Innovation to bring you the Virtual Sustainability Case Competition hosted by The University of Toronto Mississauga — running from March 19 – 22, 2026.

Join undergraduate students from universities around the world during UTM's Sustainability Week to collaborate, innovate, and compete to develop a groundbreaking solution to a real-world sustainability challenge. Working in international teams, you'll pitch your idea as a short video on the final day — with the top three teams splitting $5,000 in cash prizes.


Overview

Thursday, March 19 — Kick things off at the virtual opening ceremony, where you'll receive the official case competition question and judging rubric.

Friday, March 20 — Meet with experienced mentors who will help you sharpen, validate, and elevate your solution.

Saturday, March 21 & Sunday, March 22 — Dive deep with your team over Zoom to ideate, refine, and bring your concept to life.

Sunday, March 22 — Midnight (Toronto/Eastern Standard Time) — Submit your three-minute pitch video and let your work speak for itself.

Monday, March 23 — 2:00 PM (Toronto/Eastern Standard Time) — The top three teams will be announced. Will yours make the cut?


THE QUESTION

How can traditional post-secondary education be transformed to help prepare students to lead and contribute to a more sustainable world?

THE RUBRIC

Sustainability Impact - how much of a difference will it make?
Accessibility & Fairness - will it work for all communities and cultures?
Feasibility - is this possible?
Scalability - can it be ‘grown’ or does it only work in one very specific place?

THE WINNERS

1st Place ($3,000) – Team 6 – ‘The Impact Credit Education System’

2nd Place ($1,500) – Team 5 – ‘The Global Sustainability Learning Network’

3rd Place ($500) – Team 7 – ‘The Sustainability Challenge League’

Please email us at global.utm@utoronto.ca with any questions.