The “Make IT Agri” competition, hereinafter referred to as “the Competition,” is organized every year from September 15 of year n until the date of the jury’s final meeting, scheduled between June 15 and June 30 of year n+1. Information regarding the Competition is available on the website https://makeitagri.org/.
The founding members of the Competition are:
The Competition is also supported by several partners who contribute to its funding, participate in the jury, and sit on the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee is composed of one representative from each founding member and from the partners. Fondation Avril is represented by its General Director and by the person responsible for coordinating the competition. The Steering Committee is responsible for organizing the Competition and has full decision-making authority.
Only students enrolled in a post-secondary program (post-baccalaureate), regardless of school or specialty, as of September 15, are eligible to participate in the Competition.
Participants must form teams of 2 to 6 students, either within the same institution or across different schools. Teams may be supervised by a professor or researcher, who will mentor them throughout the project.
The objectives of the Competition are as follows:
Students must submit a project idea through an application file aimed at improving practices “from field to fork” and accelerating agricultural and food transitions. The project must be linked to new digital, IT, or robotic technologies.
The Competition focuses on the use of new digital, robotic, automation, and IT technologies (see Article 3) to improve the performance of sustainable agriculture and food systems.
For the sustainable agriculture category, projects must address one or more of the following dimensions:
For the sustainable food category, projects must fall within one or more of the following themes:
Any project that does not focus exclusively on the use of these new technologies to enhance the performance of sustainable agriculture and food will not be considered.
Teams must download the application form available on https://makeitagri.org/ between September 15, 2025, and January 5, 2026, at midnight.
The application form must include:
The completed application file must be submitted online no later than January 5, 2026, at midnight. The date and time of receipt recorded by Fondation Avril will serve as proof.
Each file must consist exclusively of original elements created by the participants, excluding any other creation of any kind (images, sounds, or other materials), whether or not subject to intellectual property rights (intellectual or industrial property, personality rights, etc.). The presence of any such elements will result in the elimination of the project.
Any incomplete, inconsistent, or frivolous application will result in the rejection of the team’s participation request.
Pre-selection phase – January (year n+1)
Application files will be reviewed by the Competition jury starting January 5, 2026. The official announcement of the 10 teams selected for the second phase of the Competition will take place from January 16 of year n+1, on the Competition’s social networks and by email to participants.
The jury reserves the right to exclude certain teams if it considers that the submitted file does not sufficiently meet the objectives of the Competition. For selected teams, the jury may issue recommendations regarding the application files.
Final phase – from January 16 (year n+1) until the final jury meeting
The teams selected during the first phase will have until the date of the jury’s final meeting (see Article 5) to work on the operational aspects of their project. This applied phase must demonstrate the validity of the project as described in the application file. Details regarding the presentation (date, venue, time, format, and process) will be provided in the official invitation.
As part of the Competition, participating teams will be required to deliver several outputs at specific deadlines communicated during the project. These deliverables are designed to support the teams’ skill development, allow regular monitoring of project progress, and prepare for communication and evaluation stages.
Deliverables may include, among others, project presentations and supporting materials.
In addition, communication about the Competition is carried out throughout the year on its official social media channels. This includes the publication of videos presenting each project, as well as content highlighting project progress and the life of the Competition (testimonials, events, behind the scenes, etc.).
By entering the Competition, each team agrees to respect these steps and provide all requested deliverables within the deadlines. These elements are essential to the proper running of the Competition, its visibility, and the fair evaluation of projects.
Finally, an engagement score will be assigned by the organizing team to reflect the commitment, regularity, and involvement of each team throughout the year. This score will complement the jury’s evaluation during the final phase.
The jury is composed of a maximum of ten members. It is appointed by the Steering Committee for a renewable two-year term. The President of the Jury is a member of the Académie d’Agriculture de France, appointed by its governing bodies.
The jury will meet at least once in December and once in June. It has full authority in selecting the winners, and its decisions in this matter are final.
Teams will be evaluated on:
Prizes will be awarded after jury deliberation. The jury reserves the right not to award certain prizes depending on the quality of the applications.
The jury also reserves the right to exclude projects or reports that do not respect the spirit or purpose of the Competition, that fail to meet the technical participation criteria, that contravene public order or morality, or that infringe on third-party intellectual property rights.
The Steering Committee reserves the right to carry out any checks and to exclude any participation that violates these rules, without being obliged to systematically verify all applications.
The winning teams will be published on the Competition’s website and social media. The official announcement of the winners will take place at the end of the jury day in June of year n+1, followed by the awards ceremony.
The prizes are as follows:
Prizes will be paid by personal checks issued by Fondation Avril. A single check for the total prize amount will be issued to one team member, who will then distribute the sum equally among the other registered team members listed in the application file submitted no later than January 5, 2026.
Fondation Avril is not responsible for the proper functioning of the Internet network, participants’ hardware or software, or the quality of their Internet connection. Each participating team is responsible for ensuring that they are technically able to submit all necessary elements for their participation before December 15 of year n.
Fondation Avril does not guarantee:
(i) that the website hosting the Competition will operate without interruption or error, or that any malfunctions will be corrected;
(ii) that the Competition website and/or third-party websites linked to it will be free of viruses or other computer programs that could damage property or people.
Fondation Avril cannot, under any circumstances, be held liable for any damage or prejudice of any kind (material, financial, or otherwise) arising from participation in the Competition.
Fondation Avril shall not be held liable in the event of force majeure or circumstances beyond its control, including but not limited to unforeseen events or accidents as defined under French civil law, requiring it to cancel, shorten, extend, or postpone the Competition, or to modify participation conditions (including access methods at the start or during the Competition) and operating procedures.
In particular, Fondation Avril reserves the right to extend the duration of any stage of the Competition and, consequently, postpone the deadline for each stage, if the number or quality of participant contributions is deemed insufficient, without incurring any liability for doing so.
The information provided in the framework of the Competition will be processed electronically and used exclusively by Fondation Avril.
In accordance with the French Data Protection Act of August 6, 2004, every participant has the right to access, rectify, or delete their personal data collected by Fondation Avril. These rights may be exercised by sending a written request to the following address: Fondation Avril, 11-13 rue de Monceau, 75008 Paris.
The data collected is mandatory for participation in the Competition. Consequently, any participant who exercises their right to delete their data before the end of the Competition will be considered to have withdrawn from participation.
Participation in the Competition implies full and unconditional acceptance of:
Each participating team certifies that it meets all the necessary conditions to participate in the Competition, in compliance with these rules and applicable French laws and regulations.
Any fraud or attempted fraud (including failure to provide information, false statements of identity or address), any breach of these rules, or any malicious intent to disrupt the Competition will automatically result in the elimination of the team concerned. Fondation Avril reserves the right to take legal action against such teams.
The jury’s report is available upon request by non-selected competitors, by explicit email request to Fondation Avril, up to one month after the announcement of the winners, using the contact address indicated on the website https://makeitagri.org/. Competitors expressly waive any right to contest the jury’s decisions.
Any other difficulty regarding the application or interpretation of these rules will be resolved by Fondation Avril.
The Competition and these rules are subject to French law and the jurisdiction of French courts, notwithstanding the Competition’s dissemination on websites located in foreign states or the nationality of participants.
Note: This English translation is provided for information purposes only. In case of discrepancy, the French version of the rules shall prevail.