Diamond Challenge 2027: Team, Entry Files and Pitch Route

Check your student team and advisor before preparing a Diamond Challenge 2027 entry. This University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship competition accepts high‑school teams worldwide, including the United States and Canada, under the same stated team and age rules.

Your first submission needs a narrative PDF and a short introduction video. The longer pitch belongs to a later round.

Check the team and advisor

The official rules require 2–4 high‑school students aged 14–18 at the submission deadline. Each student may join only one team and enter one concept per competition year.

List one adult advisor aged 21 or older in the official submission, even if other advisors also help. Check every student’s age on January 14, 2027; do not substitute a grade number for the high‑school and age requirements.

Choose the track and pitch route

Business Innovation is for a concept aimed at solving a customer problem while generating revenue and profit. Social Innovation focuses on a social or environmental problem and positive impact.

You also choose a live partner event or the virtual/pre‑recorded pitch format during the initial submission. Both the track and pitch choice become final when you submit; later pitch‑location changes are not accepted.

A live route requires a team participant at its event, whose partner sets the exact format. The virtual second round uses a recorded pitch and a pitch‑deck PDF; it does not make the entire competition remote.

The 2026–2027 toolkit lists the final Summit for April 29–30, 2027. At least one student team member must attend the final round in person to compete, so consider that commitment before choosing a route.

Prepare the two first‑round files

Your written narrative must be an English PDF of 3–5 pages, double‑spaced, with 12-point type and 1-inch margins. Do not add a cover page; pages beyond the limit are removed.

The introduction video is limited to 60 seconds and must be available through a publicly viewable URL. It introduces the team members by name, the concept and the problem, intended beneficiaries and proposed solution; an overlong or inaccessible video is disqualified.

Do not recycle a later five‑minute pitch as the introduction: 5 * 60 = 300 seconds, or 240 seconds over the initial video cap. The later virtual round also needs its own pitch‑deck PDF; the suggested maximum of 15 slides is a recommendation, not a hard limit.

Keep the concept team‑created

The downloadable rules require concepts created by team members. Disclose any nonparticipating co‑creators to the organizer rather than presenting their work as solely the team’s.

A concept that previously reached the Summit final cannot enter again, and total concept revenue before the deadline must not exceed USD 100,000. At the Summit, only student team members may present, advance slides, demonstrate prototypes or answer questions.

The reviewed current sources do not state an entry fee or an explicit generative‑AI assistance policy. Free learning resources do not establish free entry, and silence does not establish permission to use AI‑generated application work.

Ask the organizer to clarify AI use before relying on it to create application material. Travel and Summit costs are also not established here; plan with your advisor without assuming a zero‑cost total.

Review disclosure before uploading

Avoid naming schools unless a school is essential to the concept; this does not remove the introduction video’s requirement to name the student team members. The rules provide for external review and open presentations, and do not guarantee protection against disclosure of sensitive or proprietary information.

Participation grants limited use of concept references and associated participant images for promotional and educational purposes. Read those terms with your advisor and family before deciding what to share.

Submit by the exact EST cutoff

The toolkit states January 14, 2027 at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5). Use that exact cutoff, rather than assuming local midnight.

The current competition resources direct one Team Leader to register through the linked platform. Its current Start Application route reaches a named 2027 login gate; authenticated fields, fees, uploads and acceptance were not tested for this guide.

The platform’s public instructions distinguish a completed application marked “SUBMITTED” from an unfinished “In Progress” draft. Complete the required sections and check that status yourself; materials become final after submission.

HAEA preparation advice: agree on the track and route, check team ages and advisor details, time the introduction, and test its public link before the final day. Keep the submitted concept and files the team’s own work; this guide does not supply an entry.