Otis Announces Global Winners in 2026 Made to Move Communities™ Challenge

With their ideas to use advanced technology to support city officials, first responders and residents before and during natural disasters, student teams from Hong Kong and Athens, Greece were named co champions of Otis’ Made to Move Communities™ student challenge, in recognition of the exceptional strength and impact of both teams’ solutions. Otis (NYSE: OTIS) is the world’s leading elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation, service and modernization company.

“Congratulations to the student teams from and HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College and Geniko Lyceum Filothei, this year’s co champions of our Made to Move Communities global challenge. Their projects reflect not only technical ingenuity and creativity, but also a clear focus on helping vulnerable communities and first responders when it matters most,” said Randi Tanguay, Otis Chief Communications Officer. “The students — with support from their mentors — demonstrate the confidence and capability of a new generation, ready to apply technology with thoughtfulness and purpose. We hope they continue exploring, identifying challenges, and finding ways to use technology to help their communities connect and thrive.”

About this year’s challenge: A focus on natural disasters

The annual Made to Move Communities program inspires students to address real-world mobility challenges aligned with global trends and areas where Otis’ business expertise can make meaningful impact. This year’s theme focused on natural disasters, as students applied STEM skills and AI-driven thinking to develop mobility solutions to help vulnerable populations and first responders react to increasingly frequent and severe events.

The team from Geniko Lyceum Filothei in Filothei, Athens, Greece developed a concept for an AI-enabled container that tracks rainfall fluctuation and resultant water levels and activates a preventive response system to alert local emergency management personnel and protect vulnerable residents during flood risk events.

The team from HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College in Hong Kong SAR developed a concept for a combined AI and augmented reality system to help first responders see and stay connected in smoke-filled, low-visibility situations.

More than 200 high school students from 18 schools in 14 countries and territories participated in this year’s Made to Move Communities challenge.

Continuing STEM education

As global co-champions, the students at HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College and Geniko Lyceum Filothei earned $35,000 in grants for each of their respective schools.

“This achievement reflects the creativity, curiosity and hard work our students bring to everything they do,” said Lin Chun Pong, Principal of HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College. “They’ve transformed classroom learning into a practical solution with the potential to address real challenges beyond our school walls, and that’s an experience that will stay with them. We are incredibly proud of their accomplishment.”

“It has been inspiring to watch these students grow and apply technical and critical thinking skills to real world challenges,” said Petros Matzakos, Principal of Geniko Lyceum Filothei.

“We are incredibly proud of their achievement and thankful to our staff and the Otis volunteer mentors who made this experience — and future opportunities — possible.”

To learn more about the Made to Move Communities program, visit www.otis.com/mtmc.

What is the Otis Made to Move Communities program?

Otis’ Made to Move Communities™ program is the company’s flagship social impact program. It is a global student challenge inspiring creative, STEM- and AI-based solutions to real-world mobility issues.

Over the past several months, the student teams worked alongside more than 150 Otis mentors to develop and refine their concepts, presenting them to panels of Otis judges across the company’s four regions: Americas, Asia Pacific, Greater China and EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa). Four regional winners then went on to compete in a final, global competition, judged by members of the Otis Executive Leadership Team.

What are the goals of the Made to Move Communities program?

The Made to Move Communities program brings together students, educators and Otis colleagues as mentors, with the goals of advancing STEM and leadership skills to help build the next generation of talent, ensuring future workforce readiness and sustaining innovation.

What is the community impact of the Made to Move Communities program?

Since 2020, Made to Move Communities has engaged over 1,000 Otis colleagues in mentoring more than 1,250 students, and delivered 145 grants totaling nearly $1.5 million to support ongoing STEM education at participating schools.

Why is the Made to Move Communities program focused on natural disasters this year?

Each year, Otis identifies a theme grounded in global trends and areas where its business expertise can make meaningful impact, such as aging populations, accessibility or emerging technology.

Otis chose this year’s theme as over the past half century, natural disasters have increased in frequency at least five-fold and have also become more intense. Disasters can often lead to or exacerbate human mobility challenges, vulnerabilities and needs among affected communities, including by first responders.

About Otis

Otis gives people freedom to connect and thrive in a taller, faster, smarter world. The global leader in the manufacture, installation, service and modernization of elevators and escalators, we move 2.5 billion people a day and maintain approximately 2.5 million customer units worldwide — the industry's largest Service portfolio. You’ll find us in the world's most iconic structures, as well as residential and commercial buildings, transportation hubs and everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 72,000 people strong, including 45,000 field professionals, all committed to manufacturing, installing and maintaining products to meet the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook @OtisElevatorCo.