Regeneron ISEF has confirmed its 2027 finals for May in Los Angeles, and students in north China have a dedicated route to it: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Youth Science Fair (BTHYSF), a newly established ISEF-affiliated fair carrying the affiliate code CHN011. It selects ten projects each season for the global finals.
Who may enter
- Students in grades 9 to 12 at any secondary school in Beijing, Tianjin or Hebei
- Aged no more than 20 on 1 May of the ISEF finals year - for the 2026 season that meant a date of birth after 1 May 2006
- Individually or in teams of up to three, in line with ISEF rules
Dates
The 2027-season rules had not been published when the Chinese article went out; the 2026 season is the working reference, and its registration window ran from 26 January to 10 February. Anyone planning a 2027 entry should treat winter registration as the assumption and have the project ready before it.
What the ISEF finals award
Finalists compete for three families of awards:
- Special awards - more than a hundred prizes from universities, companies and foundations, from cash to internships
- Category awards in each of the 22 disciplines: first place US$5,000, second US$2,000, third US$1,000, fourth US$500, shared equally within a team
- Top awards, drawn from the category first-place winners - headed by the George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award at US$75,000, with the Regeneron Young Scientist Awards and the Gordon E. Moore Award at US$50,000 each
ISEF itself cannot be entered directly - an affiliated fair is the only door, and BTHYSF is the one built for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The competition structure, the 22 categories and the preparation route are on our ISEF page.