SOY-26

Participation in SOY-26 begins with a Qualification Test conducted during our campaign activities at selected schools. Not every student will automatically proceed to registration. Students who demonstrate the required level of basic knowledge and understanding in the initial assessment will earn the opportunity to participate in the next stage.

Key Function

• Basic academic assessment

• Identification of eligible students

• Initial understanding of students' knowledge level

• Opportunity-based entry into SOY-26

Why It Matters

This stage encourages students to prepare, focus and demonstrate what they already know. It also allows us to identify students who are ready to take on the challenges of the competition.

Skill Focus
Focus • Knowledge • Confidence • Readiness

Qualified students can proceed to the official SOY-26 registration process through their legal parent/guardian. Parents or legal guardians will complete the online registration form after reviewing and accepting the applicable Terms & Conditions.

Key Function

• Online participant registration

• Parent/guardian verification & consent

• Collection of required participant information

• Official entry into the SOY-26 programme

Why It Matters

Registration is more than submitting a form. It marks the student's official commitment to the journey and establishes a responsible connection between the participant, family and programme.

Skill Focus
Responsibility • Commitment • Discipline

Registered students will participate in category-wise assessments. Based on their performance, a defined portion of participants will be selected to move forward. The assessment process will help us identify students who demonstrate not only academic understanding but also the ability to think, analyse and apply knowledge. 

Key Function

• Category-wise examination

• Performance-based assessment

• Comparative evaluation

• Selection of participants for the next stage

Why It Matters

Selection creates an environment where students learn to perform under challenge, understand their strengths and recognise areas where they can improve.

Skill Focus
Critical Thinking • Analysis • Problem Solving • Performance

This is where SOY-26 moves beyond individual competition. Selected participants will be organised into teams and assigned category-specific theoretical and project-based tasks. Throughout the process, participants will receive guidance and mentoring to help them approach problems, develop ideas and work effectively as a team.

Key Function

• Team formation

• Theoretical task assignment

• Project-based task assignment

• Mentoring & guided development

• Collaborative problem solving

Why It Matters

Real-world success rarely depends on individual knowledge alone. Students need to learn how to communicate, cooperate, share ideas, solve problems and contribute to a common goal.

Skill Focus
Teamwork • Creativity • Communication • Leadership • Collaboration

Final participants will face a combination of Individual Presentation, Written Examination and Group Activity. Each component is designed to observe different dimensions of a student's ability.

Key Function

• Individual presentation

• Written assessment

• Group activity

• Overall performance evaluation

• Final recognition & selection

Why It Matters

The Final Round is not simply about finding who can score the highest. It provides an opportunity to observe how students think independently, communicate ideas, demonstrate knowledge and work with others under real challenges.

Skill Focus
Communication • Confidence • Knowledge Application • Creativity • Leadership • Teamwork

Scholars of the Year 2026 is not intended to be a one-time competition. It is the first practical step in a longer journey. Brain Forge plans to use the experience, observations and outcomes generated through its programmes to gradually build a stronger evidence base for understanding how children learn, what distracts them from learning, and which types of activities can encourage healthier and more meaningful engagement.

We will begin by observing students in selected areas of Dhaka, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions.

Our initial focus will include:

• Learning habits

• Study engagement

• Digital and screen-use patterns

• Interest in practical activities

• Reading and creative engagement

• Participation in outdoor and group activities

• Parents' and educators' observations

We intend to conduct structured surveys, interviews, field observations and activity-based assessments to understand the challenges more clearly.

Rather than depending only on assumptions, we want to understand what is actually happening in students' everyday educational environments.

Brain Forge will gradually introduce not in SOY-26 (as it's the first event):

• Science and project-based activities

• Educational workshops

• Skill-development programmes

• Problem-solving activities

• Reading and creativity initiatives

• Educational field activities

• Student competitions

• Parent and educator engagement sessions

The objective is to provide children with meaningful alternatives to passive screen-based entertainment.

Every programme should teach us something.

We plan to study:

What worked?
What did not work?
Why did it work?
For whom did it work?
How can it be improved?

The findings will help us redesign future SOY programmes.

The outcomes of our initial programmes, including Scholars of the Year 2026, will be observed and analysed over the following year 2027. This will allow Brain Forge to move from:

Event → Experience → Data → Analysis → Evidence → Better Intervention

Our long-term goal is to develop practical models that can potentially be adapted by schools, educators, parents and educational organisations.

We want to explore how primary and junior education can become more:

Practical - Engaging - Research-informed - Creative - Future Ready

As Brain Forge grows, we hope to collaborate with:

• Schools

• Teachers

• Parents

• Educational institutions

• Researchers

• Psychologists and child-development professionals

• EdTech organisations

• Corporate sponsors

• Social organisations

• Volunteers and field researchers

We believe sustainable educational change cannot be created by one organisation alone.

We are not promising an overnight solution to mobile dependency. But, we are building something more realistic: a continuous system of research, action and improvement.

If today's small intervention can create a better learning habit tomorrow, and if tomorrow's evidence can help us design a better intervention for the next generation, then the journey is already creating value.

Our future is not one event.
Our future is the research journey that begins with it.