Ten tips for the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge application
The Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC) is the nation’s premier middle school STEM competition. Each year, exceptional students from Society-affiliated fairs, representing the the top 10% of 6th, 7th and 8th-grade students are nominated to compete in the Thermo Fisher JIC. The program awards approximately $100,000 to extraordinary middle schoolers whose research projects explore a multitude of science, technology, engineering and math questions. These projects are diverse and can range from developing a water filtration system using animal bone waste to applying machine learning to detect allergens in food, to enhancing vehicle safety—such as in airplanes and self-driving cars—by studying how vision is can be impaired in dark, foggy conditions. Each project reflects the students’ unique curiosity and passion for discovery!
To learn more about the 2024 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists visit: https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2024-project-showcase/.
While completing the application can seem intimidating, please be assured, we are here to help! Remember, you’ve already done the hard work by completing your research project and competing at your local fair. Below are 10 helpful tips to simplify the application process, bringing you one step closer to showcasing your skills at the national level!
- Read the Official Rules.
This first step is simple but essential! The Official Rules are available in the Resources page on the application as well as on our For Nominees webpage. In this document, you’ll find eligibility requirements and the ethics statement that you agree to by completing an application. You’ll also find our rules about team projects, the visual aid guidelines, and science fair paperwork. It has a lot of information, so it’s really important that you read through it! You can always email us if you have any questions.
- Find out your Fair Password.
When you received your nomination, you should have also received a digital nominee packet with information about the competition and a fair password that gives you access to the full application. If you do not have this information, you can email jic@societyforscience.org with your name, city/state, and the name of the fair you competed in and the Thermo Fisher JIC team will help you out. You’ll need this to gain full access to the application.
- Open your application as soon as you earn your nomination.
Although the application deadline isn’t until June 11, we highly recommend starting your application as soon as you’ve received your nomination! This way, the details of your project will be fresh and easier to write about. You can also browse each part of the application to get an idea of what we’re asking for. Create an account and open your application here.
- Tackle it in parts and take breaks.
The application may seem long at first, but you can always work on it a little at a time! For each step, you can save your work and pick up another time where you left off. Try completing Part 1 (Registration), Part 2 (Student Experience) and Part 5 (Personal Interests) first — these sections ask for basic information, your school experience, and your extracurricular activities. You can also easily knock out the Permission Form upload. Once you have completed these sections, you are already halfway done!
In the digital nominee packet, you’ll find a guide to use to set a schedule for yourself on working through the application. We highly recommend setting a timeline and rewarding yourself each time you complete a step to keep your motivation high! The application does time some time and effort, and you should celebrate the small wins along the way.
- Gather your science fair safety paperwork now!
As a part of the application, you’ll be asked about the type of research you conducted and questions regarding safety measures you took or the supervision you received. In some cases, you will be asked to upload any paperwork from your local science fair demonstrating how you conducted your research safely and received approval before beginning your research. Instead of scrambling at the last minute, consider asking your fair or teachers for the paperwork now! But, don’t worry – if you don’t have copies, you can also ask an adult, such as your teacher or science fair director to provide a letter instead. You can find more information about science fair paperwork in the application and our video resources!
- Watch the application walkthrough videos on the Thermo Fisher JIC YouTube page and in the Resources page in the application.
These videos describe each task in the application and are great resources if you are unsure how to answer a particular question. Additionally, we hold live webinars throughout the spring. Open your application today to receive updates on when our next one will be!
- Trust your gut and write your responses in your own words.
Remember, the judges want to hear from YOU! It’s a good idea to have a guardian or teacher read through your responses once you’re done, but your application should be in your own words and focus on your own ideas. In Part 4, you’ll see some creative and personal essays to answer. This is a great place to let your personality shine through and let the judges get to know more about your values. For the “Solve a Problem” question, you might need to do a little research to respond to the prompt – but don’t spend a lot of time researching the perfect response. The judges want to see how you think about topics you may not know a lot about!
- Feeling stuck on Part 3? Try treating it like a judging interview.
The project essay questions in Part 3 are written to feel like a judging interview, so try talking through the questions before writing your responses. This approach will help you get started and remind you that you already know these answers!
- Give credit where credit is due.
In the application there are a few questions about what, if any, help you received with your research. It’s perfectly fine for a teacher, mentor, guardian, or other adult to have lent a helping hand with part of your project – from helping you get access to a lab or equipment you might have needed, to supervising your safety. In fact, we expect this! Just make sure to write about it when prompted.
New for this year, we’ve also asked for citations in your visual aid, even for any images you created yourself. Citing sources is an important part of scientific research, so be sure to follow the instructions in the visual aid guidelines about how to cite your images, figures, graphs and charts.
- Submit your application early!
We encourage nominees to submit their applications ahead of the deadline! Doing so allows you ample time to review your submission. Even after you submit your application, you can make as many changes as needed before deadline. Make sure to save each section after making edits. You will NOT need to resubmit once you are done.
*A helpful tip: Download your application for review to confirm that all your changes were successfully updated.
Now that you have these handy tips, don’t wait—open and complete your application today! The deadline for the 2025 Thermo Fisher JIC application is June 11, 2025 at 8p.m. Eastern Time. All nominees who submit applications will receive a t-shirt and will have the chance to win swag packages and other cool prizes like Kindles. Good luck!
For more information, visit our Nominee and Eligibility and Important Information pages. You can also email jic@societyforscience.org with any questions about the application or competition. Remember, you have nothing to lose by entering, so apply today!
