Are you a high school student with a passion for scientific research, coding, or engineering? Do you dream of presenting your own discoveries to Nobel laureates and industry leaders? If so, you need to know about the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Administered by the Society for Science, Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest and most powerful pre-college STEM competition. Every May, it brings together over 1,800 young scientists and engineers from nearly 70 countries, regions, and territories to compete for millions of dollars in awards.
Whether you are looking to secure a patent, win scholarships, or get a massive boost for your Ivy League college applications, here is everything you need to know about ISEF—including how international students, specifically from India via the IRIS National Fair, can earn their spot on the global stage.
What is Regeneron ISEF?
Regeneron ISEF is not your average baking-soda-volcano science fair. It is a premier global exhibition of graduate-level, independent research conducted by high school students.
Participants present original research projects across 21 diverse STEM categories, ranging from Behavioral and Social Sciences and Biomedical Engineering to Robotics, Environmental Science, and Quantum Physics. Students spend months—sometimes years—developing their projects, often working alongside university mentors or in professional laboratories.
Is ISEF Prestigious?
It is the absolute pinnacle of high school STEM achievements.
- Massive Prize Pool: ISEF awards over $9 million annually in scholarships, tuition grants, internships, and scientific equipment. The top prize, the George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award, grants $75,000.
- Special Awards: Beyond the Grand Awards given by the Society for Science, dozens of organizations—including NASA, USAID, the CIA, and National Geographic—offer their own highly coveted “Special Awards.”
- College Admissions: Being an “ISEF Finalist” is one of the most recognized and respected academic achievements in the world. It is widely considered a golden ticket for admission into top-tier universities like MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and Caltech.
Eligibility: Who Can Enter?
To compete at ISEF, you must meet the following baseline criteria:
- You must be in grades 9–12 (or the equivalent).
- You must not have reached age 20 on or before May 1 preceding the fair.
- Projects can be submitted by individuals or teams of up to three students.
- The research must cover a maximum of 12 continuous months and must have been conducted within the 18 months prior to the fair.
How to Participate and Submit (The Global Feeder System)
Here is the most important thing you need to know about ISEF: You cannot apply directly to ISEF.
To participate, you must earn the right to represent your region by winning a top prize at a Society-affiliated science fair.
- Find Your Affiliated Fair: The Society for Science maintains a “Find-a-Fair” directory on their official website. You must locate the affiliated fair that corresponds to your geographic location (city, state, or country).
- Submit Locally: You will register, submit your project synopsis, and undergo a rigorous Scientific Review Committee (SRC) check at the local level.
- Win and Advance: You must compete in your local/regional fair. The top Grand Award winners at these affiliated fairs are officially named “ISEF Finalists” and win an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the international event in the USA.
Representing Your Country: The Indian Pathway (IRIS National Fair)
If you are an international student, your country likely has a national affiliated fair that selects its “National Team” for ISEF.
For students in India, the official pathway to ISEF is the Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM (IRIS) National Fair.
What is IRIS?
Funded and supported by organizations like Broadcom and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India, IRIS is India’s premier national science fair. It uses the exact same 21 STEM categories and rigorous SRC guidelines as ISEF.
How to Make “Team India” via IRIS:
- Registration (Sept-Nov): Students in classes 5-12 of Indian origin studying in India can apply online through the official IRIS portal. (Note: Only high schoolers can advance to ISEF).
- Project Submission: You submit your project synopsis, research data, and video explanation. Crucial: Your project must be strictly research-based or a novel engineering design. IRIS specifically rejects textbook experiments and demonstrative models.
- The Shortlist: Expert reviewers evaluate thousands of submissions. Only the top projects are invited to the IRIS National Fair (usually held between December and January).
- The National Fair: Finalists present their work to a jury of Indian scientists and domain experts.
- Selection for ISEF: The absolute best projects at the IRIS National Fair are chosen to form Team India. These students receive specialized mentorship from the IRIS Scientific Review Committee to elevate their projects to international standards before traveling to the USA for ISEF in May.
How to “Win” at ISEF (and Affiliated Fairs like IRIS)
Reaching ISEF is a victory in itself, but if you want to bring home a medal, your project needs to stand out to the judges—many of whom hold PhDs or are industry veterans.
1. Originality is Everything Judges are looking for novel research. Don’t just build a standard drone or test soil pH; identify a unique, hyper-specific real-world problem and design a new methodology to solve it.
2. Rigorous Data and Methodology Your scientific method must be bulletproof. A simple idea backed by hundreds of data points, rigorous statistical analysis, and clear control variables will always beat a complex, flashy idea with poor data testing.
3. Master the Interview Your display board (the “quad chart”) gets you noticed, but the in-person interview wins you the prize. You must be able to speak passionately about your work, explain complex concepts simply, and comfortably answer probing questions about your project’s limitations.
4. Own Your Work While mentorship from a university professor is common and encouraged, the judges will test your fundamental understanding. You must prove that you drove the research, understood the literature, and performed the analysis.
Ready to change the world? If you are in the US, check the Society for Science website to find your local affiliated fair. If you are in India, head to the IRIS National Fair portal to begin your journey. Start researching, start building, and you might just find yourself on the global stage next May!