Would You Trust It? ANSI's 2027 Student Paper Competition Asks Students How Standards Build Confidence

Competition Open to High School and College Students; Cash Prizes Available

NEW YORK, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and its Committee on Education (CoE) today announced the launch of the 2027 Student Paper Competition, inviting high school and college students nationwide to explore how standards help the products, services, and technologies people rely on earn their trust. Entries are due by June 11, 2027.

About the 2027 Theme

Now in its sixteenth year, the theme for the 2027 paper competition is "Would You Trust It? Exploring How Standards Build Confidence in Products, Services, and Emerging Technologies."

Every day, people rely on products and services they can't personally inspect or test, and few stop to ask why they feel so sure about any of it. The 2027 competition asks students to dig into that confidence with one central question: What makes something trustworthy, and how do standards help get it there? For example, how can you be sure your sports helmet will protect your head? What prevents an e-bike battery from catching fire? Why is it safe to type your credit card number into a website? And would you trust a drone to drop your order at the right doorstep?

Research Areas

Students should choose one of three focus areas and examine how standards build confidence within it.

Products—Put Trust to the Test: The Standards Behind the Stuff You Buy, Wear, and Use

• Sports Equipment, Clothing, and Wearables (helmet impact testing, flame-resistant children's sleepwear, care labels, fitness trackers and smartwatches)
• Autonomous and Micromobility Vehicles (self-driving car safety and testing, e-bike and e-scooter battery fires, collision safety)
• Food Safety (preventing and detecting the most common foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and norovirus)

Services—Put Trust to the Test: Standards That Protect What You Share, Order, and Pay For

• Social Media and E-Commerce (online privacy, age verification, secure payments, banking and card-security standards)
  
  
• Food Delivery (drone delivery safety, temperature control in transit, allergen and ingredient labeling, tamper-evident packaging)

Emerging Technology—Put Trust to the Test: Standards That Help New Technology Earn Our Confidence and Gain Adoption

• Artificial Intelligence (transparency, testing, risk management, responsible use)
  
  
• Biometrics (fingerprint, face, and voice recognition; accuracy, spoofing prevention, protecting personal data)

Students with a different idea may propose their own topic, subject to approval, by contacting Lisa Rajchel ([email protected]).

Submission and Prize Information

All entries must meet the requirements in the ANSI 2027 Student Paper Competition flyer. Submissions must be original work (not AI-generated) and must not have been previously published.

Winning entries will be published on ansi.org and potentially in other media outlets. They will also be shared widely with the domestic and international standards community, including experts in government, industry, professional societies, and academic institutions.

Every qualifying submission earns the student a $20 gift card and a certificate of submission. The top high school paper wins $1,000, and the top paper from a student at an institution of higher learning wins $1,500. ANSI reserves the right to award no prizes based on the judges' determination.

For full submission criteria, access the ANSI 2027 Student Paper Competition flyer. Email entries by June 11, 2027, to Lisa Rajchel, [email protected]. The winning papers will be announced in August 2027.

Resources for Research

ANSI has developed a list of suggested resources for research and reference:

• Access materials for K-12 students 
  
  
• Learn more about voluntary consensus standards and American National Standards
  
  
• Search a list of approved American National Standards
• Search the organizations accredited by ANSI to develop American National Standards
  
  
• Search for international standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  
  
• Search for international electrotechnical standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
  
  
• Check out some user-friendly ANSI resources that show the breadth of standards' impact
  
  
• Read more about consumer safety, digital trust, AI, and other topics on ANSI's online news archive or www.ansi.org

Read about the 2026 winners covering the theme "Imagine a World Without Standards or Rules—What Would Happen?" and view all previous years' winning papers in the competition archive.

About the ANSI Committee on Education

The ANSI Committee on Education oversees all Institute initiatives related to standards and conformity assessment education and outreach, fulfills the objectives of the United States Standards Strategy (USSS), and responds to other issues that may be delegated by the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, or the National Policy Advisory Group.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org and access the latest news and content on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute