National Finals of Future Problem Solving

“Throughout the year, we worked through four challenging topics: rising sea levels, food security, agricultural industry, and nanotechnology,” our students shared. “We spent countless hours researching, practising booklets, and refining our problem-solving strategies. The qualifying round in July, which focused on the agricultural industry, was a two-hour digital booklet completed under exam conditions. With approximately 10% of submissions nationwide progressing to Nationals, qualifying was a huge achievement.”

Coaches Alec Cook (OKG20) and Oliver Weeding (OKG20) offered their perspective on the students’ journey:

“Preparation for the National Finals is a year-long exercise for Future Problem-Solving students. To qualify, a competitor must be in the top 10% across Australia. Success does not come easily. With three practice problems and a qualifying problem, research and study become a week-to-week commitment requiring immense time and dedication.

“Over the course of the year, students attended weekly before-school training sessions to prepare for the Qualifying and National Finals booklets. Each week, they focused on developing their problem-solving skills by analysing future scenes, identifying underlying problems, and generating a range of solutions. A major part of their preparation involved extensive research on the term-long topics, building a deep understanding of the issues and potential solutions. The process of training for Nationals is a significant undertaking, yet one the boys completed with positive attitudes, week in and week out.”

During the opening ceremony, Dr Andrew Weeding (Deputy Headmaster of K–12, and Head of Senior School), highlighted the invaluable skills gained in the experience of Future Problem Solving.

“If you look at the Knox Graduate Profile, you’ll see that it does not mention academics at all,” said Dr Weeding. “It mentions many skills such as resilience, optimism and moral character. These are areas that we endeavour to achieve with our students when they leave the gates, that will see them through into the next phases of their life, and to be able to stand in front of you as future problem solvers and to talk to such a committed group of students who are working to better themselves well beyond an ATAR. That's what you're doing by being involved in Future Problem Solving. You should all be very proud that you're doing it.”

Attendees were inspired by Knox Old Boy Dr Dylan Sherman (OKG12), President of the Board of Trustees for Future Problem Solving International. A Nanoengineer (PhD), Sir John Monash Scholar, McKinsey & Company Associate, lawyer, and musician, Dr Sherman brought a wealth of experience to the stage. He posed the thought-provoking question, “Why nanotech?” – challenging students to think boldly and expansively about the future.

We asked the students about their progress, this year’s theme, and how it felt to be a part of the Future Problem Solving program.

“The Future Problem Solving experience is really great,” said Benas (Year 10). “Last year we got to go Nationals – this year as well! It was great to develop our skills and then see how we've improved across each year. For example, this time, with the action plan presentation, we did it as a full team of six. That was really enjoyable, and we got to third place. The year of work and preparing for Nationals has paid off, and we've improved from last year.”

“This year, the theme was the use of nanotechnology in paramedics and medical scenarios,” said Jerry (Year 10). “We had a lot of challenges to solve. The main one we identified was the need to improve the implementation of the nanotechnology for various issues, for example, the ethics and safety issues for the health of the citizens.”

“In the given future scenario, there was an example of administering nanotechnology without consent, which was a major ethical flaw,” added Boren (Year 10). “This was a number one problem we identified.”

“Overall, great weekend!” said Edward (Year 10). “We got to collaborate and contribute and also win a trophy. It was fun!”

The 2025 Future Problem Solving coach Mr Cook said, “The boys should be incredibly proud of how well they've done. The best parts of coaching Future Problem Solving is getting to see students show creativity, without constraint of what's possible right now, and getting to see them really think futuristically.”

Congratulations to our students for achieving:

3rd Place in Individual Global Issues Problem Solving – William (Year 8)

7th Place in Team Global Issues Problem Solving – Year 10 students Boren, Jay, Jerry and William

3rd Place in Action Plan Presentation – Year 10 students Benas, Boren, Edward, Jay, Jerry and William