Map the System, hosted by the Skoll Centre, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, is a global competition and learning programme that nurtures a global community of educators, students, and practitioners committed to applying the principles of systems thinking to complex social and environmental challenges.
Map the System is transforming the way we teach problem solving within higher education and is equipping a new generation of leaders with the systems thinking mindset needed to re-shape our world.
Map the System is delivered through partnerships with Higher Education institutions around the world. The Skoll Centre partners with universities worldwide each year, supporting educators to deliver the Map the System programme at their institutions before inviting top student teams from all over the world to convene for a final competition in Oxford. Our educator partners are deeply committed to enhancing social impact education at their local institutions.
Why join?
- Join a global movement which values understanding problems first, before proposing solutions. We believe this is the future of social impact education.
- Build global connections with staff, faculty, and students from institutions across the globe – all of whom are passionate about social change.
- Create meaningful opportunities for students by winning cash prizes, making valuable connections, and developing their ideas for impact.
Competition Process
Each year, universities and postsecondary institutions from around the world partner with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford to bring the Map the System to their students for a local edition of the competition. With dedicated support from the Skoll Centre team, educators (faculty or staff) from partner institutions lead the organisation and delivery of Map the System on their campus. Institutions can choose to offer the competition to students either campus-wide or department specific and can also choose to incorporate Map the System into their for-credit curriculum or run it as an extracurricular programme. Affiliated students from all disciplines and levels can register to take part individually or as part of a team of up to 5 members and spend the next several months diving deep into a social or environmental topic they are passionate about. Participants learn and utilise the principles of systems thinking as a guiding approach to understanding a complex social or environmental challenge and create visual systems maps as a means to articulate their findings in a way that people can meaningfully understand, share, and learn from – key skillsets for those interested in creating systemic and sustainable social or environmental change. Affiliated students and recent graduates from all disciplines and levels can register to take part individually or as part of a team of up to 5 members and spend the next several months diving deep into a social or environmental topic they are passionate about. Participants learn and utilise the principles of systems thinking as a guiding approach to understanding a complex social or environmental challenge and create visual systems maps as a means to articulate their findings in a way that people can meaningfully understand, share, and learn from – key skillsets for those interested in creating systemic and sustainable social or environmental change. One team of finalists from each partner institution is selected to present their findings at the Global Final event in 9-12 July 2026.Judging Criteria
Learning Programme - To support educators in empowering their students to think differently about social and environmental change and how to apply a systems thinking approach, the Skoll Centre has developed the Map the System learning programme. The programme serves as a primer for students who go on to submit a project for a Map the System competition at their institution. The learning programme is fully asynchronous and consists of six online modules, each consisting of approximately two hours of learning content.Participate
Website: https://www.skollcentre.org/map-system
Managing Organization: Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Eligibility:
Institutions must be considered a higher educational institution (e.g. universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic degrees or professional certifications). Institutions must have internal capacity to support students throughout the cycle of the Map the System Programme.
Institutions must be considered a higher educational institution (e.g. universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic degrees or professional certifications). Institutions must have internal capacity to support students throughout the cycle of the Map the System Programme.
Registration Dates
August 1, 2025
1:00am PDT
Registration Opens
January 31, 2026
11:59pm PST