Horizons Challenges
The Horizons competition invites undergraduate students to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today. These complex, multifaceted issues require innovative, interdisciplinary solutions. Participants work in teams, choose one of the following "wicked problems,” and develop a proposal that addresses the problem from a unique perspective.
Our Partners
The Challenges
Artificial Intelligence & Human Systems
Education for an Uncertain Future
What capabilities, mindsets, and knowledge should education systems prioritize when we can't predict what skills will matter in 10-20 years, and how do we redesign learning environments to develop those capabilities?
AI Safety & Algorithmic Harms
How do we ensure AI systems are safe, fair, and aligned with human values as they make increasingly consequential decisions about healthcare, hiring, criminal justice, and daily life?
Arts, Culture & Identity
Valuing Human Creation in the Age of Generative AI
How do we value, preserve, and celebrate human creativity when AI can generate art, music, writing, and design at scale?
Cultural Memory & Regional Identity
How do we preserve local stories, traditions, and cultural knowledge in rural and small-town America amid urbanization and digital homogenization?
Economics & the Future of Prosperity
Beyond GDP: Measuring What Matters
How do we measure societal progress and organizational success in ways that capture human wellbeing, community health, and environmental sustainability, not just economic output?
Climate & Planetary Systems
Water, Growth, and Food Security in Utah
How can Utah balance population growth, suburban expansion, and agricultural water needs while ensuring long-term water security and food production amid prolonged drought?
Public Lands in Transition: Access, Use, and Climate
How do we manage public lands for recreation, conservation, and community benefit amid competing pressures from development, resource extraction, climate change, and growing demand?
Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems
How do we design robust alerting mechanisms to protect lives and critical infrastructure from climate-related hazards like wildfires, floods, and extreme weather?
Energy & Infrastructure
Energy Workforce & Infrastructure Transition
How do we prepare workers and communities for shifts in energy production, transmission, and storage. From aging coal plants to advanced nuclear, renewable generation, and grid modernization, ensuring economic stability and opportunity?
Critical Infrastructure Resilience
How do we build and maintain infrastructure (power grids, water systems, transportation, communications) that can withstand natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and cascading failures?
Space & Frontier Systems
Sustainable Life Support in Deep Space
How do we create closed-loop systems that support human health and well-being during multi-year space missions?
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Youth Mental Health Crisis
What's driving the dramatic rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people, and what community-level interventions could help?
Social Infrastructure & Equity
Rural Healthcare Access
How do we provide quality healthcare to populations far from medical centers, with provider shortages and limited resources?
Building Resilient, Connected Communities
How do we create communities resilient to both isolation and division where people build meaningful connections across differences and maintain social cohesion amid stress?
Rethinking Higher Education's Value & Purpose
As college costs rise, student debt grows, and alternative pathways emerge, how do we ensure higher education remains accessible, relevant, and worth the investment while preparing students for rapidly changing careers?
Housing Affordability & Community Stability
How do we ensure people can afford to live in the communities where they work, especially in fast-growing areas with limited housing stock?