First report
When we launched the Sifr Prize, we hoped it would leave us with a clearer picture of who’s out there and what they’ve been thinking about. As a reminder, you can read the backstory here and the rules here. Submissions closed last month and judging is still underway. This is what came in.
- submissions
- 156
- entrants
- 130
- countries represented
- 29
Where they came from
Twenty-nine countries were represented.
Most came from people living in the region. Many others came from the diaspora, or from people elsewhere working on its problems.
Top 10 countries
submission connectionsWhat they wrote about
The essays spread across eighteen subjects.
149 CATEGORIZED ESSAYS · 18 SUBJECTS Of 156 submissions, 153 contained readable essays; collapsing four duplicates left 149 distinct essays. Each was assigned one primary subject. The 90 openings in the mashrabiya show proportions, not individual essays.
149 categorized essays across 18 subjects.
Patterns we saw
- Missing regional data and benchmarks. Many submissions called for datasets, norms, or measurement systems built around regional populations and conditions.
- Technology not designed for the region’s heat. This appeared across batteries, sensors, wearables, solar panels, textiles, and buildings.
- Infrastructure failure as a design constraint. Weak grids, intermittent networks, old hardware, and missing records were treated as conditions to design around.
Who answered
were students.
Across high school, undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs, students made up 56 of the 124 people who named a role.
Roles · 124 people 130 unique people submitted. Role was optional; 124 named one. Each person is counted once.
Students 56
Other roles 68
said they used AI. Writing help was the most common use, followed by research and ideation. The percentage is based on 136 usable yes-or-no responses. The breakdown of uses comes from 84 method responses; people could select more than one use.
54% of 142 responses had been thinking about the problem for at least a year.
Of the people who answered, 60 named a university or research institution; 37 named a company or startup.
Among 137 responses, 49% knew the problem through personal or community experience; 43% studied it; and 42% worked on it directly. This question allowed multiple selections, so the percentages do not add to 100%.
Notes people left
A few notes that came with the submissions.
What happens next
Evaluation is still underway.
Submissions are still being reviewed, with outside experts brought in where needed. Winners, honorable mentions, and any other essays selected for publication will be announced on this website and at @sifrprize on Instagram.