Student invention up for $50,000 prize in Mississauga

A group of Mississauga students is up for a $50,000 prize in a Canada-wide contest.

The three Grade 8 students from Lisgar Middle School are regional finalists in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow 2026 contest.

Solve for Tomorrow is a national education contest by Samsung Canada. Students in Grades 6 to 12 use STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) to create solutions for real community challenges. The first place prize is $50,000 in Samsung vouchers to purchase Samsung technology, and/or select Samsung products for the school.

The three students—Pranav, Shlok and Vihaan—created a smart storm drain filtration system designed to protect Lake Ontario.

Pranav and Shlok entered the contest last year while in Grade 7 with an idea to create backyard greenhouses in areas with high food prices. While they didn’t make the finals last year, they decided to try again.

They got the idea to create a storm drain filter while out for a walk in the rain, Vihaan said.

“We saw that a lot of water and dirt and particles from cars driving by were going inside the drains, so we thought what if we added a filter underneath the drains so it stops it before it goes to the filtration plant,” Vihaan said.

The modular, recycled-material unit uses a layered sieve and fine-mesh filter to trap pollutants ranging from large debris to microplastics. Integrated smart sensors monitor water flow and alert maintenance teams to clogs, creating an affordable, scalable solution that stops contamination at the source.

They found they were finalists in mid-April.

“I was extremely happy,” said Shlok.

As finalists, they already won $5,000 in vouchers for Samsung tech items for their school.

On Wednesday, the team will go to the Samsung head office in Mississauga to present their idea along with the other finalists.

They are up against stiff competition as the only middle school team among the eight finalists, said their teacher Heather Kooting.

Nevertheless, the team feels confident about winning.

“We are here to win,” said Shlok. “This is the biggest contest of our lives right now.”

It would be amazing to see the invention built, said Pranav.

“The best part is we would be able to make the idea (storm drain filter) if we win,” he said.

After the contest, the students said they would like to send the idea to local government officials for consideration.

All three students are in the International Business Technology program at Lisgar, which focuses on project-based learning and STEM education to prepare students for global careers, covering topics such as robotics, AI, 3D printing and digital marketing.

The students came up with the idea to enter the Samsung contest, said Kooting.

Since its inception, Solve for Tomorrow has impacted over 40,000 students in over 1,400 schools and has invested over one million dollars in advancing STEM education across Canada, Samsung said.

Last year, two Mississauga schools were finalists in Solve for Tomorrow.

The video below explains the Lisgar Middle School students’ filtration system.

The seven other Solve for Tomorrow finalists are:

• Thomas A. Blakelock School – two teams (Oakville, Ont.)
• Abbey Park High School – (Oakville, Ont.)
• Central Peel Secondary School (Brampton, Ont.)
• Queen Elizabeth High School (Calgary, Alta.)
• St. Malachy’s Memorial High School (Saint John, N.B.)
• Burnaby South Secondary School (Burnaby, B.C.)

For more information about the contest and to vote for Lisgar, see the website here.