Students in the island are being invited to form teams and enter the 2024-25 Conrad Challenge, with the chance of landing a trip to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The annual competition was founded by Nancy Conrad to honour the legacy of her late husband, Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad, and is open to students aged 13 to 18 around the world.

Teams can enter one of four categories – ‘Aerospace and Aviation’, ‘Cyber-Technology and Security’, ‘Energy and Environment’ and ‘Health and Nutrition’.

Each year River Advisers, previously known as the ManSat Group, sponsor Manx teams by covering their entry fees to the challenge, along with travel costs should a team reach the final.

Teams have until November 1 to assemble their crew of between two and five members and a coach, and enter the Challenge by completing the ‘Activation Stage’ at: www.conradchallenge.org/conrad-challenge

By that same date, the team must also complete its ‘Lean Canvas’, a tool used to map out the fundamentals of the new venture in its early stages.

This involves sharing the team’s early thoughts to 12 questions that outline its innovation, market and business model. Full details are on the website above.

The ‘Innovation Stage’, which will see teams bring their idea to life by writing a brief, recording a video and creating a website, has a deadline of January 18.

The top teams from this stage are named finalists and invited to pitch their projects to a panel of judges at the 2025 Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit which takes place in April.

Former St Ninian’s pupil and chief technical officer at River Advisers, Jennifer Stone, said: ‘Each of the four categories has a wide remit, with teams encouraged to choose a global or local issue that resonates with them.

‘The Conrad Challenge has proved to be an inspiring competition for many budding Isle of Man entrepreneurs over the years, allowing them to apply their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills to plan, and potentially develop, tomorrow’s products and solutions.

‘Previous Isle of Man teams have come up with some excellent projects, with some making it all the way to the final stage of the Challenge. We wish everyone taking part this year the very best of luck!’

River Advisers supports a range of educational opportunities for Isle of Man students within the ManSat Scholarship Programs.

In addition to the Conrad Challenge, it offers scholarships to the NASA United Space School, held each year in Houston in July, and has sponsored island high schools to participate in the UK Rocketry Challenge.

In addition, it awards an annual ‘ManSat Fellowship’ grant for Manx students seeking to further their studies in space, and scholarships to programs run by the International Space University in Strasbourg.

For further information, please visit: www.riveradvisers.com/scholarship