FAQ
- If I’m over 30 years old, can I still apply?
- How can I get involved if I’m not a part of the competition?
- Is there a specific format that should be followed for submissions?
- Can I participate individually?
If I’m over 30 years old, can I still apply?
This year, we have received a lot of interest from youth around the world, so we had to limit eligibility right at 30 years old. Therefore, no one above the age of 30 can apply. That doesn’t mean that you can’t serve as an advisor to teams that are eligible to participate. We also encourage you to keep up with @WorldBankWater on Twitter and other World Bank social media channels for other challenges that we are hoping to launch where you might be able to participate! The Utility of the Future team uses #UtilityOfFuture on social media so make sure you also follow that hashtag! Innovation and futuristic vision benefit from everyone so keep on dreaming and saving those great ideas for other opportunities!
How can I get involved if I’m not a part of the competition?
We invite you to join our Utility of the Future event that will take place during the Annual World Water Week that is being hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) on August 23 at 4PM EST time! Registration to our event and many other World Water Week are completely free so it will be a great opportunity to learn more about the tool, hear utilities speak about their experience implementing it, and also hear the pitches from our finalists and vote on your favorite one! Get your tickets here. We’ve also had some interest from organizations who want to share ideas about innovation and work with participants. While this is not possible at this stage, we are happy to share your contact information with the finalists as they prepare their pitches! Let us know if you want to be part of the roster of advisors. Finally, we encourage you to share the event announcement with all your networks so that we get as many visionaries as possible!
Is there a specific format that should be followed for submissions?
You are free to use the format of your choosing as long as you submit your answer through the platform that was set up for the competition. Formatting is limited as responses are only accepted in text form, but you can be as creative as possible with it! We just kindly ask you to stick to the word limit that we specified! We will be checking!
Can I participate individually?
One of the pillars that is encouraged through the Utility of the Future tool is collaboration around setting a futuristic vision and working together to help the utility get there. Since a collaborative spirit is such an integral part of the tool, we wanted to keep that as part of the competition so this time around, we are not accepting individual submissions. However, we encourage you to find other people who are just as passionate as you are about water and innovation! What a great opportunity to collaborate with others! This is a global challenge so you might even be able to find other individuals across the world.