Introducing The Velocity Prize
29 Jun 2026
Students have been building digital skills for years, from using devices, to block coding, scripting and now prompting. They have adapted as technology changes around them. And they’ve learned so many ways to solve problems. Finally, these students have a chance to show what they know!
The Velocity Prize is a new global skills challenge from Minecraft Education and Microsoft that brings together computational thinking and creative problem-solving, offering learners age 13-16 a chance to demonstrate their ingenuity in the blocky world of Minecraft. Top-performing students are recognized globally by Microsoft with mentorship opportunities.
Students have one mission in this epic puzzle: find the hidden flag. And find it as fast as possible.
A New Kind of Challenge Built for the Next Generation
The Velocity Prize drops students into a custom-built Minecraft Education world where progress depends on how they think. Some will explore block by block for clues. Others will code with MakeCode or Python to move faster and automate discovery. And for those with Microsoft 365 Copilot, students can use AI as a thinking companion to explore further problem-solving approaches.
What makes the experience powerful is its flexibility. There’s no single right way to play, just different strategies that reflect how learners think, test, and adapt. That freedom builds confidence, creativity, and persistence.
The Velocity Prize invites students to apply their skills—computational thinking, coding, algorithmic problem-solving, spatial reasoning and critical thinking—moving beyond passive tech use and into active creation, experimentation, and innovation.
