US-based technology education nonprofit Technovation has won the flagship PIEoneer of the year award for its work supporting underrepresented young people to become technology innovators and problem-solvers.
The award was presented during the 10th anniversary of The PIEoneer Awards at London’s Guildhall, where winners across 21 categories were recognised for their contributions to international education.
“Receiving the PIEoneer of the year award is an honor for Technovation,” said founder Tara Chklovski.
“The PIEoneer of the year award is a reminder that the work we do transcends our organisation’s community, and equipping youth with proper educational tools is society’s best path forward.”
Chklovski, who founded Technovation 20 years ago to help girls develop the skills to shape their futures, said the recognition reflected the work of its more than 500,000 alumni worldwide and their challenge to limits imposed on them by society.
Technovation combines project-based learning with mentorship and a global competition in which students identify local challenges before developing technology-based solutions to address them. Its programmes cover areas including artificial intelligence, coding, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Founded in 2006 under the name Iridescent, Technovation began by organising family science events in Los Angeles. It has since developed into a global nonprofit supported by volunteer mentors, parents and local communities.
The PIEoneer of the year award is a reminder that the work we do transcends our organisation’s community, and equipping youth with proper educational tools is society’s best path forward
Tara Chklovski, Technovation
Technovation Girls, one of its core programmes, supports girls working in teams to design and code mobile applications responding to problems they have identified around them. Participants receive guidance from mentors as they turn their ideas into working products and present them through an international competition.
Former participants have gone on to enter startup and app-building competitions, speak at events including TEDx Women and IBM India Onward, and participate in the Google Science Fair. Some have also secured internships with technology companies, universities and government agencies.
Technovation was selected from a shortlist featuring organisations and initiatives working across global education, professional development, family mobility and post-conflict recovery.
Other finalists included Boundless Life, which provides education centres, furnished homes, coworking facilities and community support for internationally mobile families across eight countries.
The Netherlands-based GlocalShift Foundation was shortlisted for its Return to Rebuild Scholarship Programme for Gazans. The initiative has raised $650,000 with its partners to support hundreds of medical students, with its first graduates preparing to return and contribute to rebuilding Gaza’s healthcare system.
NAFSA, Common Purpose and Times Higher Education were recognised for the International Education Professional Certificate, which has enrolled 289 participants from 92 universities and organisations across 15 countries.
The Forum on Education Abroad was shortlisted for its Career Catalyst campaign, launched in 2025 to examine the professional and economic benefits of studying abroad. Its research found that business school students who studied overseas earned a $4,159 salary premium in their first jobs after graduation.
The remaining finalists were UK-based The JADE App and India’s The Outreach Collective, with the latter also receiving the highly commended recognition.
