iSchool and WE Applied Technology Schools Expand Partnership for StartupTeen 2026 Competition
EdTech platform iSchool, which specializes in teaching programming and artificial intelligence to students, has announced the continuation of its strategic partnership with WE Applied Technology Schools for the second consecutive year as part of the StartupTeen 2026 competition.
The initiative aims to empower middle and high school students to transform their innovative ideas into viable technological and entrepreneurial projects.
This year's edition marks a massive expansion in the participation of WE Applied Technology Schools. The number of participating WE schools and teams has surged from just six in 2025 to 19 schools in 2026, representing a more than threefold increase in institutional engagement.
According to iSchool, this rapid expansion follows the highly successful participation of WE students in the inaugural edition, where they secured top honors. The 2026 competition is designed to provide a broader platform for students to develop practical solutions utilizing artificial intelligence and modern technology, while simultaneously honing their entrepreneurial skills.
StartupTeen 2025 Success & 2026 Outlook
The inaugural 2025 edition of the competition established a strong foundation, bringing together over 800 students distributed across 140 teams from 40 different schools, encompassing public, private, international, and applied technology education systems across Egypt.
The table below highlights the top winning projects from the 2025 competition:
RankWinning TeamSchoolPrize AwardProject Description
1stNextPayWE Applied Tech School (Nasr City)EGP 100,000An NFC-enabled smart card linked to mobile phones for POS-free payments, utilizing biometric verification (fingerprint/facial recognition) for security.
2ndBreScanEl Orman Official Language High SchoolEGP 50,000Tech-driven applied solution.
3rdECOVOLTIXNational Bank of Egypt School for Technical ScienceEGP 25,000Tech-driven applied solution.
Ecosystem Support and Future Scope
The 2025 edition was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and featured a robust coalition of local and international tech partners, including Microsoft, IBM, the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), DMZ, Fekretak Sherketak, Mobica, WE, Ghabbour Group, and B.TECH. International ecosystem players like Start School and Riga TechGirls from Latvia also participated.
Following the success of the National Day finals hosted at the British University in Egypt (BUE) last September, iSchool remains committed to scaling StartupTeen in 2026. The expanded edition will continue to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world tech entrepreneurship for students aged 13 to 18.