Australia · Years 3 to 12 · Checked at Young ICT Explorers

Young ICT Explorers project help

Young ICT Explorers invites Australian students to solve a real problem or express an idea with technology, then explain it to judges. The ideas are rarely the hard part; students tend to have more than they can build. What separates a strong entry from a half-finished one is usually planning: choosing what the project must do, building that well, and leaving time for the report and the review. This page explains the competition as its organisers publish it, with every rule and date checked at source, then shows a simple prioritising method any team can use. We are independent of Young ICT Explorers, and the project always stays the students' own work.

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Checked at youngictexplorers.net.au on 7 October 2026 · Independent of the organisers · The students' own project

In short

Young ICT Explorers is a non-profit national digital technology competition for Australian students in Years 3 to 12, founded by SAP. Students enter individually or in teams of up to four, in year categories from 3-4 to 11-12, submit a written report of no more than 5 pages, and present to judges. In 2026, documentation was due 31 July, and national judging runs 9 to 21 November.

Where to start

Three courses for Young ICT Explorers teams

Match the course to the kind of project the team wants to make.

App Making for Kids course thumbnail

YCT / 01

App making for kids

Primary students building a working app in blocks, the most common kind of junior entry.

Open the syllabus →
App Development for Teens course thumbnail

YCT / 02

App development for teens

Real mobile apps with React Native for secondary teams with a serious idea.

Open the syllabus →
Python for Teens course thumbnail

YCT / 03

Python for teens

For hardware, data and AI projects that need a general-purpose language.

Open the syllabus →

How it works

Entry, categories and the 2026 calendar

The organisers describe a YICTE project as a student-created digital solution that responds to a real-world need. Here is how entry works, as published for 2026.

Young ICT Explorers 2026 key dates, as published by the organisers
When (2026)What happens
1 JulyRegistrations close; teachers, parents or guardians register an account
31 July, 11:59pmProject documentation and submission deadline
3 August to 30 SeptemberZoom reviews for senior categories (Years 7-8, 9-10, 11-12)
1 September to 29 OctoberZoom reviews for junior categories (Years 3-4, 5-6)
30 SeptemberPre-recorded presentation videos due, for teams not presenting live
29 October, 1pm AESTState Awards Ceremony, via Zoom
9 to 21 NovemberNational Finals judging
26 NovemberNational Finals Awards Ceremony

Students can enter alone or in teams of up to four, in the category matching their school year: 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 or 11-12. Every entry includes a written report of no more than five pages, and each participating student needs a project talent release form completed by a parent or guardian.

Project files go into a ZIP that must not exceed 20 MB. Larger videos can be shared as private links in the report, as the FAQ explains.

Reviews are the judging rounds. Most teams present live over Zoom in a 10-minute session: 5 minutes to pitch, present or demonstrate, then 5 minutes of questions and feedback. Teams that cannot attend may submit a pre-recorded video of up to 8 minutes instead.

Every team receives written feedback and a certificate of achievement or participation. The organisers note that all dates are subject to change, so their key dates page is the place to confirm the following year's calendar.

Sources: YICTE 2026 key dates; YICTE rules; YICTE FAQ. Read 7 October 2026.

Judging

Four criteria, and what they mean in practice

Every entry is first judged in a Core Award category for its year level. Optional awards, such as those for cybersecurity and privacy, sustainability and the use of AI, are only open to projects already entered in a core category.

Core judging criteria, as listed by the organisers, with what judges ask
CriterionQuestions the organisers listWhat it means for a team
Creativity and InnovationDoes the project show original thinking, and what makes it different from similar products?Know the existing tools and say clearly what yours does that they do not
Level of DifficultyHow challenging was it for the students' year level, and how were problems solved?Keep a record of problems met and how each was overcome
Quality and CompletenessHow well does it meet its objectives, and is it a working product or a prototype?A small thing that works beats a big thing that half works
Documentation and PresentationIs it explained clearly in the review, and is the report well structured?Plan the report and the 5-minute pitch, do not leave them to the last night

The organisers welcome both fully developed solutions and prototypes. That matters for planning: a team does not need a polished product, but it does need a working core it can demonstrate and explain.

The suggested report structure covers the introduction and how the idea was chosen, the design and features with labelled images, research, problems encountered, a user manual and a conclusion on what the team learned and would change.

Project types the organisers list include apps and web tools, games and interactive media, robotics and hardware, AI and data projects, and sustainability and community solutions. Anything students imagine, design and build with digital technologies is eligible.

Projects must be suitable for all ages. On copyright questions, such as using music in a video, the FAQ points students to the Copyright Act 1968 and the Australian Copyright Council rather than giving legal advice.

Sources: YICTE Core Awards; What is a YICTE project. Read 7 October 2026.

Worked lesson

MoSCoW: choosing what the project must do

MoSCoW sorts every feature into Must, Should, Could and Won't (this time). It is a simple way to make sure the working core gets built first. The project below is invented for this lesson.

The idea

Three Year 8 students want a lost property finder for their school: staff log found items with a photo, and students search for what they lost.

The time

From mid June to the 31 July deadline is about six weeks. Three students working two hours a week each gives 36 hours in total.

The rule

Plan the Must features to use no more than about 60 percent of the time, so problems, testing and the report have room.

The team's feature list with estimated hours and MoSCoW labels (invented example)
FeatureEstimate (hours)LabelRunning total of Must and Should
Add a found item with photo and description6Must6
Search by item type and colour5Must11
Written report, no more than 5 pages6Must17
Test plan and test log3Must20
Mark an item as claimed3Should23
Sort results by date found2Should25
Simple staff login5Should30
Email notice when a matching item is logged4Couldnot counted
Photo recognition to suggest the item type8Couldnot counted
A separate phone app12Won't (this time)not counted
Sharing items between schools10Won't (this time)not counted

The Must features add up to 20 hours, about 56 percent of the 36 available, which leaves room for surprises. Adding the Should features brings the total to 30 hours. Of the two Could features, only the 4-hour email notice fits, taking the plan to 34 hours with 2 hours to spare; the photo recognition feature, at 8 hours, would push the team past its time. The two Won't items are not failures. Writing them down protects the team from being tempted halfway through, and they make an honest answer to the report question "What would you do differently next time?"

Using it with a real team

Teams estimate badly at first, usually far too low. The fix is to re-estimate each week: when a Must takes longer than planned, something lower down moves to Won't, rather than the deadline being missed.

Students should make the labels together and agree them, because the arguments about what is truly a Must are where the real design thinking happens.

Why judges notice

A team that can explain why it left features out shows exactly the judgement the Level of Difficulty and Quality and Completeness criteria reward.

MoSCoW is used by professional software teams for the same reason. Learning it on a school project builds a habit that lasts well beyond one competition.

Our role

Teaching the skills, never building the entry

Young ICT Explorers celebrates what students imagined, designed and built themselves. Our lessons build their skill so they can do exactly that.

Lessons cover the programming a project needs (app logic, data storage, simple web pages, Python for hardware and data), plus testing, writing clear documentation and practising a 5-minute pitch with questions afterwards.

For primary teams, we often start with block-based app making, which lets a Years 3-4 or 5-6 team produce a working app without fighting syntax.

We do not write a team's code, design its project, write its report or present for it. Judges ask how the project was made, and a team that did the work can answer.

We do not promise an award or a place in the national finals. We teach skills, planning and presentation, which are what the criteria reward.

A twelve-week arc from idea to submission
WeeksFocusEvidence of progress
1 and 2Choose and test the idea with real usersA one-paragraph problem statement and two user comments
3 and 4MoSCoW plan and first working MustThe core feature works, however rough
5 to 8Build the remaining Musts, then ShouldsWeekly re-estimate and an updated test log
9 and 10Report drafted against the suggested structureFive pages, with labelled images and a user manual
11 and 12Pitch practice and final testsA 5-minute demonstration that survives tough questions

Growing as a project maker

Four rungs from Years 3-4 to Years 11-12

Categories follow school years; project skill grows in this order.

From a first app to a well-engineered entry
AroundRungThe sign it is secure
Years 3 to 61. Makes something that worksBuilds a simple app or game that a classmate can use
Years 5 to 82. Solves a real problemStarts from a user's need rather than from a cool feature
Years 7 to 103. Plans and testsUses a prioritised plan and a test log
Years 9 to 124. Engineers and explainsJustifies design choices and trade-offs to experts

If the project stalls

Cut scope before cutting quality. Move a Should to Won't and finish the core properly.

Show the working part to one real user this week. Their reaction usually unblocks the next step.

Related reading

The Australian competitions calendar places YICTE among the year's other contests.

For a short, intense build, see student hackathons in Australia.

The catalogue

Nine courses for project builders

Grouped by the kind of project. Each card links to its full syllabus.

I

Apps and web

The most common entries

YCT / AW / 02

App development for teens

React Native apps for real phones.

Open the syllabus
II

Games and media

Interactive projects

YCT / GM / 01

Game development for kids

Scratch, Roblox and Minecraft.

Open the syllabus
III

Data and AI

Senior categories

YCT / DA / 01

Python for teens

The language behind most data projects.

Open the syllabus

YCT / DA / 03

Python and AI for kids

Smart projects for younger teams.

Open the syllabus

How lessons run

Weekly online lessons through the project season

We teach live from India. Hobart is four and a half hours ahead of India time in winter and five and a half in summer, and Darwin four hours ahead all year, so an Australian after-school lesson runs in the Indian afternoon. That makes a regular weekly slot easy to keep from February through to the July deadline.

Weekday after school

Programming skills for the project.

Weekend

Testing, report writing and pitch practice.

June and July

Finishing the core and the documentation on time.

Skills, not answers

We teach how; the team decides what to build.

Planning built in

MoSCoW and weekly re-estimates from the start.

Testing habits

A test log that strengthens the report.

Groups of fifteen to twenty

Students at a similar level sharing progress.

One-to-one option

For an individual entrant or a team's lead coder.

No award promised

Judges decide; we build skill and confidence.

Student work

Projects our students have published

Made because students wanted to make them. Explore them in the student labs.

NutriLife AI nutrition coach project screenshot

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

Misti AI chatbot for maths and coding screenshot

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

GuardianX AI internet safety assistant screenshot

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

SkyCast weather forecast application screenshot

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

Fees

Our lessons are charged monthly in US dollars, the international rate, with nothing to join and no lock-in. Young ICT Explorers is run by its organisers; anything they charge is separate from us.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

  • A free first lesson with a teacher
  • A look at the project idea and how to scope it
  • No card required
Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

  • Fifteen to twenty students at one level
  • The same teacher all season
  • Shared reviews of plans and tests
  • A certificate at the end
Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

  • A teacher for one student
  • Lessons shaped around that student's project skills
  • Weekly times that suit the family
Enquire

What families say

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Copied without changes from our Google reviews.

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Questions about Young ICT Explorers

What students, parents and teachers ask

What is Young ICT Explorers?

A non-profit national digital technology competition for Australian students in Years 3 to 12, founded by SAP, in which students create and explain a digital solution to a real need or a creative idea.

Who can enter, and in what categories?

Students in Years 3 to 12, individually or in teams of up to four, in categories by school year: 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12.

How long can the report be?

The rules say reports must not exceed 5 pages in total, and the project and report files must fit in a ZIP of no more than 20 MB.

What happens at the review?

Most teams present live on Zoom in a 10-minute session: 5 minutes to present or demonstrate and 5 minutes of questions. Teams that cannot attend can submit an 8-minute pre-recorded video.

What is MoSCoW prioritisation?

A planning method that labels each feature Must, Should, Could or Won't (this time), so the essential part of a project is built first and the rest is added only if time allows.

When are the 2026 national finals?

National judging runs from 9 to 21 November 2026, followed by the National Awards Ceremony on 26 November 2026, according to the organisers.

Does the project have to be finished?

No. The organisers say both fully developed solutions and prototypes are welcome. What matters is a working core that the team can demonstrate and explain.

Will you build our project?

No. We teach programming, testing, documentation and presenting. The project, its code and its report stay the students' own work.

Can a primary student enter alone?

Yes. The FAQ confirms individuals can enter, and a classmate may present on behalf of a sole entrant who cannot attend judging.

When should we start for next year?

The organisers say submissions can be made from the February launch. Starting early in the school year leaves time to build, test and write the report well before the deadline.

Related pages

More for Australian students

Other competitions and project skills.

Competitions calendar

Every coding and maths contest by month.

Student hackathons

Short, intense team builds.

Understand the code

Why copied code lets teams down.

Problem solving through coding

Thinking skills behind good projects.

Coding classes in Australia

Every state and every age.

Game development for kids

For teams making a game.

Start here

Start with a free project class

Tell us the year level and the project idea, however rough. The free class turns the idea into a short MoSCoW plan and tries the first piece of code together.

Would you like to read more first? Every course outline is on the course atlas, and how we teach explains how lessons work.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · connect@modernagecoders.com

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