Future Thinkers Essay Competition
Key Dates
In selecting the Top 20 essays, we will still consider submissions that did not rank in the initial Top 40 or Top 30 but were sufficiently improved by the the 15th of Aug.
In other words, the final deadline for submissions is the 15th of August, but we encourage early registrations by the 11th of July and 1st of August so that our judges can give early feedback.
Eligibility
Entry is open to youths of any nationality who have studied in Malaysia. Entry is free.
On the 31st of August 2025, participants must be 21 years old or younger and have not yet begun their first year of university.
We accept both individual and group submissions. Groups are capped at four members per group. Group members must be declared upon registration.
Essays should be in English and within 1500 words, excluding appendices, endnotes and citations.
Competition Process
Upon registration via this form, participants will receive a welcome email with a link to an auto-generated Google Docs.
All essay writing should be done in participants’ respective Google Docs files, to which we will have live access. The version history may be used to detect abuse of artificial intelligence or cheating.
Judges will give written feedback directly in the Google Docs allocated to them, by the above deadlines for the Top 40 and Top 30 essays. Participants should not expect other forms of communication or feedback from judges throughout the competition.
Citations are encouraged and should be in APA format. Page numbers must be included. It is participants’ responsibility to ensure their citations are clear enough to facilitate our checks.
Terms & Conditions
Participants agree to compete on a fair & honest basis. Any cheating, dishonesty, ineligibility or non-compliance with the competition process will result in disqualification and/or revocation of awards.
Judicious usage of artificial intelligence is allowed and expected. However, our assessment criteria and competition process are designed to strongly reward human creativity & critical thinking.
Individual & group submissions are eligible for the same pool of awards and will be assessed by the same criteria. However, group submissions are liable to penalties, if unhealthy group dynamics are detected.
We strive to provide an intellectually diverse and competent panel of judges. Participants should write for a general but educated audience and should not expect expert knowledge or specialized feedback. Decisions of the Chief Judge, including allocation of judges, are final.
Participants retain copyright to their essays but grant to Institut Merbau or its assigns the rights to publish their essay in a physical and digital compilation of essays, as well as to use their essay or excerpts thereof for future publicity purposes.
Contact Us
Please Whatsapp us at +60162514032 or email us at shaun@merbau.my, for further queries or assistance.