Innovation and Team Spirit: The Magic of Science Competitions Seen through the Lens of the Compound Challenge

For five years now, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has hosted The Compound Challenge—a global retrosynthesis competition. When the event kicked off in 2018 on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the company, no one could have predicted the path it would take—from a novel competition to a pivotal event within the synthetic chemistry community. But what makes the Compound Challenge tick and what drives its popularity? And, more importantly, what lessons can be taken from the Compound Challenge and applied to other challenges in scientific education and outreach? In this Viewpoint Article we will tell the story of the Compound Challenge, from its inception to its current status. Through examining feedback following each of its iterations, we begin to define what makes an open innovation challenge so compelling. It is our hope that educators, leaders, and innovators will be able to learn from our successes as well as our mistakes and apply these lessons to their future outreach activities. What makes a chemistry‐based innovation challenge successful and how can activities for scientific outreach be improved? In this Viewpoint we discuss the Compound Challenge—a global retrosynthesis competition that has resonated within the scientific community. Through examining the feedback of the participants, we gain valuable insight and lessons into what makes an open innovation activity successful and what pitfalls to avoid.