Future City High School Info Session Recap: Season Overview, Timeline, and a Special Opportunity
Future City High School held its most recent info session, walking coaches and students through everything they need to know to kick off the season – from the annual theme to the mentor panel to a special financial opportunity for teams in select locations. Here’s the full recap.
You can find the slide deck here!
What Is Future City High School?
Future City challenges student teams to design a city that exists 100 years in the future, built around an annual sustainability theme. This year’s theme is “Fire Resilient Future” – teams will design a resilient city that can prevent, protect, and recover from urban wildfires.
Team Structure
- 3–5 students, grades 9–12
- One adult coach – an educator, a parent, or a STEM professional
- Coaches can lead multiple teams, with no cap on how many teams they register
- Open to students from the same school, a homeschool environment, or a nationally, regionally, or state-recognized youth organization
- Works in any setting: public school, private school, homeschool, after-school, in-person, hybrid, or fully online – one fully online team even advanced to finals last year
The Deliverables
- A 2,000-word research essay, which must include an interview with a STEM professional
- A digital city model built in Revit – free Autodesk software
- A project plan to keep the team on track
The essay and model are scored by judges from around the world during the virtual qualification round. Top teams then advance to finals, where they present their city and solutions to a live panel of STEM professional judges.
Season Timeline
- August: Handbook released – available now to all registered teams
- Now through fall: Teams research, write their essay, build their Revit model, and develop their project plan
- October 31: Team registration deadline
- January: Virtual qualification round (competition access teams)
- February: Finals round in Washington, DC, for teams advancing out of qualification — a 7-minute presentation followed by an 8-minute Q&A in front of judges
Why It Matters: Student Benefits & Impact
Beyond the deliverables, students build a real set of durable and technical skills along the way:
- Technical writing through the essay
- Critical thinking and problem-solving throughout the season
- Collaboration as they work on a team
- Digital design experience through Revit
- Career exploration through the mentor panel
And the numbers back it up:
- 85% of students say Future City gave them a place where they felt welcome and like they belonged
- 91% of coaches say Future City helped their students learn to use engineering to solve real-world problems
A reminder for prospective coaches: any teacher or program leader can lead a team – no STEM background required. Future City is deliberately cross-curricular, and whatever background you bring will help your team succeed.
Program Resources
- A robust program handbook, available now, covering competition rules, rubrics, the engineering design process, and project management
- An annual theme webinar on September 30, featuring four theme experts this year from UL, the Hawaiian Department of Transportation, and Farmers Insurance
- Monthly coaches calls covering various topics through the season
- A new Revit webinar with Revit experts to help teams build and enhance their city models
- Access to the top three essays, models, project plans, and presentations from last year – a great way to see what strong deliverables look like
- A new online community on Discourse, where teams can connect with each other and with the mentor panel
Meet the Mentor Panel
This year’s mentor panel is made up of STEM professionals offering technical guidance and career insight throughout the season, both through Discourse and through dedicated webinars:
- Brian Browne – Returning mentor and Revit expert; Senior Project Designer at CI Design
- Margaret Dominguez – Optical Engineer at NASA, who recently helped launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
- Johnny Tran – Architectural Designer at AECOM
- Vivian Nguyen – Future City High School alum, now a senior; her team won 2nd place this past finals and 1st place the year before
The first mentor webinar for teams takes place on September 10.
Awards
Future City High School offers two tiers of recognition:
Special Awards – open to all competing teams, each winner receives a $1,000 cash prize
Finals Awards – for the top three placing teams:
| Placement | Scholarship (per student) | Cash Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| 2nd | $7,500 | $14,000 |
| 3rd | $3,000 | $7,000 |
Scholarships are funded by NCEES, and cash prizes are funded by Farmers Insurance. NCEES also covers hotel accommodations for finals teams – travel to DC is the only cost teams need to cover themselves. Families and friends are welcome to attend finals presentations.
Participation Levels & Cost
- Competition Access – $375/team: Full access to resources, calls, and webinars, plus the ability to submit deliverables for judge feedback and eligibility for special awards, scholarships, and cash prizes
- Program Access – $300 (no team cap): Full access to resources and support without the pressure of competition – a great low-commitment way to try the program for a first season. Teams can upgrade to competition access at any time for an additional $150
Special Opportunity: Financial Support for North Carolina and New England Teams
Organizations located in North Carolina or the New England area may qualify for financial support this season. Spots are limited – reach out directly to confirm eligibility.
Next Steps
- Choose a participation level and register your team using the QR code or registration link
- Keep October 31 circled on your calendar – team registration closes then
- Once registered, check your dashboard for the full schedule, including all upcoming coaches calls, mentor webinars, and Revit webinars
- Reach out for marketing materials if you’re looking to raise funds locally – local engineering firms and businesses are often great partners
Key Takeaways
- Theme: Fire Resilient Future – design a city that can prevent, protect, and recover from wildfires
- Registration deadline: October 31
- No cap on how many teams a coach can register, and no student cap under Program Access
- Mentor webinar: September 10 – meet Brian, Margaret, Johnny, and Vivian
- Theme webinar: September 30, featuring experts from UL, Hawaiian DOT, and Farmers Insurance
- Special Awards open to all competing teams ($1,000 each), plus top-three finals awards up to $20,000 cash and $10,000/student in scholarships
- NCEES covers hotel accommodations for finals – teams only cover travel
- Financial support available for eligible teams in North Carolina and New England
- Any teacher, regardless of subject background, can successfully lead a team
Questions?
Reach out to futurecity@discovere.org, or watch for the recording and slide deck.