The road to the finale

Stages

1. 1

   Stage 1

   Teacher and team registration

   11 Jan – 5 FebComing up

   Teacher-mentors register the school, add up to 3 teams of 3–4 students and attend an orientation session (or watch the recording).

   • Registration opensMon, 11 January 2027
   • Orientation session 1Thu, 21 January 2027
   • Orientation session 2Tue, 26 January 2027
   • Registration closesFri, 5 February 2027 at 23:59
2. 2

   Stage 2

   Project submission

   8 Feb – 2 AprComing up

   Teams build a prototype that uses AI and the teacher-mentor submits the seven parts in the portal by 23:59.

   • Submission opensProposed dateMon, 8 February 2027
   • Submission deadlineFri, 2 April 2027 at 23:59
3. 3

   Stage 3

   Top 50 announced, gallery opens

   19 AprComing up

   After screening and judging, the 50 highest-scoring projects are announced and shown in the public gallery.

   • Top 50 announcedMon, 19 April 2027
4. 4

   Stage 4

   Public voting by SMS

   19 Apr – 2 MayComing up

   Anyone with a Tanzanian mobile number can vote, once per category, with an SMS code.

   • Gallery and voting openMon, 19 April 2027
   • Voting closesSun, 2 May 2027 at 23:59
5. 5

   Stage 5

   Top 20 finalists announced

   4 MayComing up

   After the votes are audited, the top 5 projects by verified votes in each category become the finalists.

   • Top 20 finalists announcedTue, 4 May 2027
6. ★

   Stage 6

   Finale and awards

   15 MayComing up

   Finalists present to the judges and the awards are announced.

   • FinaleSat, 15 May 2027

All times are East Africa Time (EAT). If a date changes, this page and the calendar file update automatically. For what happens at each stage, see How it works