The Lemelson Foundation

Register now 📣 The Global Pollinate Potluck 2026 is in Manila on October 5-10!

We’re proud to support our grantee Pollinate Impact as they host a gathering that brings together incubators, funders, investors, and ecosystem partners from across the Global South.

🔗 Register: https://bit.ly/4uaoOY2

𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐰𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 "𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲," "𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬," 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.

We could have gathered anywhere. So why Manila? 🇵🇭

In the Philippines, there’s a concept called Kapwa - often understood as shared self or shared humanity. At its heart is a simple idea: we don’t exist separately from one another.

That idea sits at the heart of what we’re trying to build with the Potluck.

Our ecosystem doesn’t lack smart people, good ideas or hard-earned knowledge. But those things too often sit in different organisations, countries and corners of the sector. The challenges we’re trying to solve - talent, funding, stronger incubation, healthier ecosystems - don’t fit neatly into those boundaries.

They need us to find each other.

So this October in Manila, Kapwa is shaping the spirit of how we’ll come together: bringing what we know, being honest about what we don’t, and recognising that some things are simply better figured out together.

🇵🇭 Global Pollinate Potluck 2026
📍 Manila | October 5–10
🎟️ Register here: https://www.pollinateimpact.org/events/global-potluck-2026/potluck2026_agenda/

Congratulations to the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Challenge (JIC) finalists!

Founded by Society for Science, Thermo Fisher JIC is the premier STEM competition for middle school students. This year’s thirty student finalists’ projects include using machine learning to potentially combat neurodegenerative diseases, developing low-cost bionic prosthetics, and other innovative solutions to today’s most pressing challenges.

We're proud to support the future of innovation by presenting The Lemelson Foundation Award for Invention at the Thermo Fisher JIC awards ceremony on October 27 in Washington, DC.

Learn more about the finalists, their projects, and other interests here: https://bit.ly/4xecQgR

📢 SubjectToClimate has launched a new invention education resource for middle school educators covering climate and sustainability

The Foundation is working to support integration of invention education into classrooms and curricula, and this unit is a useful resource for teachers looking for more approaches to increase student engagement and address real-world problems like climate change.

For more details and access to the full lesson plan, visit:
https://subjecttoclimate.org/lesson-plans/unit/science-unit-soil-solutions-in-invention-design

InventEd Network

New resource for educators!

How can students turn what they learn about climate and the environment into ideas that make a difference?

Soil Solutions in Invention & Design brings science, engineering, climate learning, and invention education together in a six-lesson unit designed for students in grades 6–8. In partnership with The Lemelson Foundation, SubjectToClimate developed the Science Unit: Soil Solutions in Invention & Design.

Students explore soil, water, climate, agriculture, and human systems, then put that knowledge into action through the invention education design process to develop sustainable, community-centered solutions.

Climate learning meets invention education.

Explore the new resource and bring real-world problem-solving into
your classroom. https://subjecttoclimate.org/lesson-plans/unit/science-unit-soil-solutions-in-invention-design

Wildfire detection and response is one of our biggest environmental and public safety challenges — and it’s become even more urgent because of climate change.

Our grantee VentureWell recently showcased four innovative startups supported by their network who are turning research into practical technology for fire preparedness, response, and recovery:
- Elven Technologies, protecting against extreme heat and fire
- FNN, detecting wildfires before they spread
- Puffin Air Purifiers, improving indoor air quality
- Wildfire Edge AI Camera System, using AI to improve wildfire response

Learn more about their solutions addressing wildfire threats in the article below ⤵️

Before this summer’s wildfires made headlines, VentureWell-supported innovators were already building technologies to address this increasingly urgent problem.

Meet four teams redefining the future of fire preparedness, response, and recovery → https://bit.ly/3RQHyxK

Elven Technologies

ICYMI: The 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge named its Top 300 ! 👏

These young inventors were chosen from a pool of 2,000 applicants and represent middle school STEM talent from across the U.S. Starting at our grantee Society for Science-affiliated science fairs, the students are using invention education to solve real-world challenges.

Their projects cover 15 categories, including engineering, earth & environmental sciences, and medicine & health sciences. Their inventions included a solar-powered air purifier, machine learning to determine asthma risk, AI for improving aviation safety, and a portable system for detecting micro-plastics.

Congratulations again to the Top 300! Learn more about the innovators: https://www.societyforscience.org/jic/2026-top-300-junior-innovators/

And stay tuned — the Top 30 Finalists will be chosen from this group of 300 inspiring innovators on Sept. 16.

There are many ways to define invention education — but at its core, it’s about teaching students how to identify and solve problems in the ways that inventors do.

And it’s about cultivating an inventive identity and mindset in all young people, regardless of whether they follow a STEM path.

Our InventEd initiative recently published a white paper that collects the latest research about the benefits of invention education and how it can shape the future of learning and innovation — but just as importantly, how it’s inspiring students right now to build confidence, curiosity, and resilience.

The research shows that students involved in invention education experience:
💡Higher engagement
💡More joy in learning
💡Reduced anxiety around math and science
💡Greater persistence through failure and iteration

🔗 You can read more of the research in the white paper here: https://inventioneducation.org/researching-invention-education-2019-2025/

And learn more about the InventEd Network here:
https://inventioneducation.org/

Mark your calendar 🗓️ the Global Pollinate Potluck 2026 is in Manila on October 5-10!

We’re proud to support our grantee Pollinate Impact as they host a gathering that brings together incubators, funders, investors, and ecosystem partners from across the Global South.

🔗 Register: https://bit.ly/4uaoOY2

India-based agricultural startup BharatRohan went from being turned down repeatedly for loans to securing financing that helped them achieve nearly 50 times revenue growth in five years.

Their initial funding gap was filled by our grantees Villgro and the Inkludo Impact Foundation, who are pioneering new financing models for social impact entrepreneurs to gain access to capital — and take their ideas to the next level.

Today, BharatRohan has used its drone technology to improve livelihoods and encourage climate-friendly agriculture for more than 58,000 small-holder farmers across India.

Their success story demonstrates how innovative financing — a mix of grants, guarantees, and commercial debt — can unlock capital, sustainable growth, and impact at scale. Read more at https://www.lemelson.org/a-birds-eye-view-on-derisking-funding-for-social-impact-entrepreneurship/, and swipe below ➡️