Aayush Bhan
Agentic AI Engineer
Find employers that hire on skills, not degrees.
Tech partner
Most job seekers without degrees never learn which employers would actually hire them.
When every job ad looks the same from the outside, candidates without degrees burn applications on employers whose 'degree preferred' means 'degree required,' while the companies that genuinely hire on skills stay invisible in the noise. The existing tools all trust the ad — AI matchers like JobRight, Simplify, and Teal score resumes against posting text, and boards like HiredBySkill and Tear the Paper Ceiling tag by what the posting claims — yet research keeps finding that firms which dropped degree requirements barely changed who they hire, because the ad was never the evidence; actual hires are, and nobody checks them.
Sep 1 26’
Challenge start
Build (23 days left)
Oct 1 26’
Deadline & Winners
What to build
Your Mission
Build an AI-powered solution that shows a job seeker without a degree which employers genuinely hire on skills — not which ones say they do.
Resume-to-ad matchers like JobRight, Simplify, and Teal and 'no degree required' job boards both take the posting at its word — a saturated, credulous category. The gap is the lip-service detector: proving who actually got hired without a degree, what they had instead, and whether that path repeats or was a one-off.
How to build
Master the Challenge in 2 days.
Day 1
Find your personal angle on the problem.
Pick the smallest experience that helps someone find employers who genuinely hire on skills — not which ones say they do. The goal is to make one of those experiences work well, not to solve every part of the problem at once.
- Identifies employers whose actual hires show degree-free paths
- Extracts the skills and credentials those hires really had
- Distinguishes genuine skills-first policies from PR
Pick your angle
Day 2
Prototype a minimal possible solution.
Choose the simplest format that fits the experience and audience. Build only what you need to test whether the idea works, people can use it, or the system can deliver.
- A no-code prototype in Lovable, Bolt, or v0
- A working app in Cursor
- A custom-coded solution — Exa can sit underneath as a retrieval layer tracing who actually got hired without a degree and what they had instead, checked against public evidence rather than job-ad claims
Pick your tools
Meet your mentors
Get a guidance from industry professionals.
Gio Masawi
Global Solutions Manager Gemini Enterprise, Agentic AI
Karina Assini Andreatta
Senior Data Scientist, AI Engineer
Casius Sibanda Lee
AI Developer Advocate
Geoffrey Rolin Jacquemyns
Claude Ambassador
Anubhav Pandey
AI Product Manager, Forward Deployed Engineer
Gain invaluable insights and support from seasoned experts who are passionate about driving positive change. Our mentors bring years of experience in tackling complex challenges, ready to share their knowledge and help you make a meaningful impact.
Sep 1 26’
Challenge start
Build (23 days left)
Oct 1 26’
Deadline & Winners
Jury Panel
Put your solution in front of hiring managers.
Receive valuable feedback and insights from hiring managers and industry experts.
Community recognition
Winner
TBD
The winning project will be featured on Drawerrr’s Winners page and receive support, and exposure to take the idea further.
Community recognition
Finalists
TBD
TBD
The two finalist projects will be featured on Drawerrr’s Finalists page and receive support to continue developing their ideas.
If you choose Exa as part of your tech stack, the winner and two finalists will receive Exa.ai credits, exposure through Exa’s developer community, and technical support to help develop their projects further.
Sep 1 26’
Challenge start
Build (23 days left)
Oct 1 26’
Deadline & Winners
FAQ
Everything you need to know about participating.
Who can participate?
The challenge welcomes participants from all countries and skill levels, making it ideal for students and career switchers. Whether you're an entry-level individual with no experience or a seasoned professional seeking to broaden your expertise, this challenge suits your needs. We encourage diverse backgrounds, including scientists, designers, engineers, analysts, policy makers, community leaders, PR experts, economists, marketers, educators, and other professionals.
Is there a participation fee?
No. It's free for all participants.
How to get started?
- Create an account.
- Choose a challenge you would like to work on.
- Follow guides to solve the problem (solo or in a team).
- Submit your solution.
- Get the feedback from sustainability experts and results at the beginning of the each month.
Is there any deadlines?
You can submit your case at any point. The challenge results will be announced in the first few days of each month on the winners' page.
Can I participate as part of a team?
Yes, participants can submit the case as a team. There is no maximum number of team members, but we recommend up to five members.
How to obtain assistance from mentors?
You can find available mentors under the Connect page in your account. Mentor help is optional and not required to participate in the challenge.
Who will be evaluating submissions?
Submissions will be evaluated by the Jury panel, which will assess cases based on Innovation, quality of work and potential Impact.
Are there any awards for the winners?
The best cases will be published on the winners' page, and the team will receive prizes from our sponsors.
Can participants apply multiple times?
Yes, participants can submit multiple cases, either solo or as part of a team.
What happens after the challenge?
All participants maintain access to community chats, mentors, and network.
After challenge
Take it to the next level.
The Challenge graduates get the opportunity to connect with grant providers and organizations looking to pilot projects and take them to the next level.