Research Mentorship & Research Access
Research Pathways provides mentorship, Research Access funding, and presentation support for students preparing to do research. The definitions, word limits, eligibility, and timelines of the three competition levels are governed by the competition and publication overview; this page answers a different question — what support you can receive once you decide to pursue research seriously.
Paid mentorship is not required to submit to WYE or receive publication review. Students may work independently or develop their work through qualifying courses or mentorship programmes.
Research support serves all three competition levels
Research Pathways is not another competition, and it defines no separate word limits, cycles, or output formats. Whichever level you plan to enter — or none for now — you can receive methods-level research support here.
Support focus: sharpening the question, argument structure, evidence selection, and citation practice.
Support focus: data sources and definitions, chart design, forum sampling methods, and public-explanation writing.
Support focus: research design, literature review, method choice, verifiable analysis, and multi-round revision.
What research mentorship includes
- Turning interests into answerable research questions
- Judging the fit between question, evidence, methods, and time
- Forming a research plan with staged goals
- Literature search and review matrices
- Finding and cleaning data, defining indicators
- Choosing methods proportionate to the question
- Excel, R, Python, Stata, or systematic qualitative analysis
- Structure, argument, and chart presentation
- Multi-round feedback with revision records
- Author contribution, AI, ethics, and data availability statements
- Honest statement of research limitations
From competition results to the next stage of research
A competition should not end when rankings are announced. WYE seeks to carry the question-awareness, evidence skills, and independent writing a student has built into mentorship, complete work, and public presentation.
Students who win awards or reach official shortlists in WYE competitions, or place in other verifiable relevant competitions, may present those results as evidence of research readiness. When free or partially funded mentorship places are limited, WYE gives these students priority access. Priority never means automatic admission.
In principle, placed on the Research Access priority list.
Receive funding applications and research development invitations first.
Competition results enter review as evidence of research readiness.
Apply normally with a research plan, writing sample, or data work; prior competition entry is never required.
Competition results can raise research-readiness priority, but never replace review of financial need, project feasibility, research integrity, mentor matching, funding capacity, and presentation quality. This is “many entrances, different evidence,” not a hierarchy.
- Priority invitations to apply for free or partially funded Research Access mentorship
- Priority in mentor matching when financial need, feasibility, and fit are comparable
- Priority to develop competition work into Level 2 topical research or a Level 3 independent paper
- After completing research, priority for showcase review or curatorial invitations
- Publication-ready work may be invited to submit independently to the Publication Pathway, still subject to normal editorial review
Applications must state the competition name, host organisation, year, placement or shortlist status, and paper title, with a link to official results (or a certificate or host attestation where none is public), and consent to WYE verification.
Submit Competition ResultsPortal opening soonFinancial need: whether cost is a genuine barrier to participation, what amount the student can reasonably bear, and whether accommodations or special circumstances apply.
Research readiness: competition results, whether the question merits further study, existing writing or data samples, fit with the level and mentor resources, and completeness of integrity disclosures.
All else equal, stronger competition results may take priority; paid courses earn no credit. Judges and editors never see students’ financial information.
Presentation opportunities after research
Showcase selection and Publication Pathway publication are two separate decisions, reviewed and notified separately.
Priority presentation means “priority for showcase review or curatorial invitations,” not automatic release. Before anything goes public, necessary revisions must be complete, with checks on sources and citations, data and methods, author contribution, AI use, external guidance, conflicts of interest, publication consent for minors, and privacy requirements for surveys, interviews, and sensitive data.
How to participate
Students who complete research independently, without mentorship or funding, may still submit directly to the Publication Pathway or apply for showcase review.