The Victoria and Albert Museum has announced that elite athlete, powerlifting champion, and television personality Karenjeet Kaur Bains will bring her unique perspective on resilience, performance, and problem-solving to the judging panel for the V&A Innovate National Schools Challenge 2026–27.
Widely recognized by television audiences under her moniker "Athena" on the hit BBC show Gladiators, Bains has carved out a pioneering path in professional sports. Beyond the television screen, she is a trailblazer who has claimed the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships junior title and made history as the first British Sikh woman to represent her country at both the European and World championships. Alongside her athletic career, she works as an online fitness coach dedicated to empowering South Asian women to achieve their fitness goals and break through cultural and systemic barriers.
Now, Bains is channeling that same drive and commitment to overcoming obstacles into the realm of design education. As a judge for the prestigious national competition, she will evaluate innovative ideas submitted by students across England, looking for creative solutions to real-world problems.
The V&A Innovate National Schools Challenge is an annual flagship program designed to foster imagination, design thinking, and practical problem-solving among young students. Open to student groups in Years 7, 8, and 9 from state schools across England, the challenge invites participants to develop design concepts that address pressing contemporary issues. The core themes for the 2026–27 cycle—Simplify, Empower, and Nurture—have been carefully chosen to challenge students to think deeply about how design can improve daily life and build stronger communities.
In an exclusive interview following the announcement of her appointment, Bains shared her excitement about joining the panel, reflecting on how her background in competitive sports aligns closely with the principles of design and innovation.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing the creativity and imagination of the students and how they approach real world problems," Bains said when asked about what she anticipates most from the role. As an elite athlete, she explained, her daily routine revolves around identifying areas for improvement, overcoming physical and mental challenges, and engineering solutions to maximize performance. She expressed enthusiasm for witnessing how young minds apply that exact same solution-oriented mindset through the medium of design. Furthermore, she emphasized her desire to inspire participants to trust their instincts, embrace unconventional thinking, and recognize the tangible capacity of their concepts to effect positive change in society.
Delving deeper into the thematic framework of this year’s challenge, Bains offered her personal interpretation of the guiding pillars: Simplify, Empower, and Nurture. To the athlete and coach, these three concepts converge on a single overarching objective: making a meaningful, positive difference in the lives of others.
Breaking down the terms, she explained that "Simplify" represents the ongoing pursuit of making processes, systems, or objects easier, more efficient, and widely accessible. "Empower," meanwhile, centers on instilling confidence, providing essential tools, and unlocking opportunities so that individuals can reach their full potential. Finally, she described "Nurture" as the deliberate cultivation of supportive environments where people are given the space to learn, grow, and develop. Drawing from her own extensive career in competitive sports, Bains noted how critical it is to have access to a robust support network, maintain unwavering self-belief, and constantly iterate on one’s approach. These themes, she suggested, serve as a vital reminder that even modest, seemingly incremental changes can create a profound ripple effect on an individual’s quality of life.
The intersection between athletic performance and design is a subject Bains knows intimately. When asked about why design holds personal significance for her, she highlighted its fundamental role in transforming abstract concepts into practical, life-improving solutions.
In the world of sport, she pointed out, the meticulous design of specialized equipment, optimized training environments, and advanced technology can mean the difference between success and failure, while also deeply influencing safety and accessibility. As someone driven by a continuous desire to progress, she maintains a deep appreciation for thoughtful design that anticipates and resolves latent issues—problems that people might not even realize exist until a solution is presented. Ultimately, she believes that effective design is rooted in a profound empathy for human needs and behaviors, rather than being driven purely by aesthetics.
When prompted to consider the modern innovations she relies upon most in her own demanding daily routine, Bains pointed directly to her smartphone. Balancing multiple high-pressure roles as an elite competitor, television personality, and digital fitness entrepreneur requires seamless organization, and her mobile device serves as the central hub for her operations. It enables her to manage her online coaching business, communicate effectively with clients around the clock, track her rigorous training metrics, generate digital content, and remain connected regardless of her physical location. For Bains, the smartphone stands out as a prime illustration of how modern innovation can streamline everyday complexities, freeing up valuable time and mental energy to focus on what matters most.
Offering advice to the thousands of students preparing their entries for the current challenge, Bains encouraged participants to maintain an open, inquisitive mindset and to shed any fear of failure. Some of the most groundbreaking ideas in history, she noted, originate from simply asking probing questions, challenging long-standing assumptions, and examining familiar problems through an alternative lens.
She also stressed the importance of effective collaboration, reminding students that multidisciplinary teams thrive when members leverage their unique individual strengths and perspectives. Most importantly, she advised young designers to release the pressure of conceiving a flawless product on the first attempt. Through her athletic endeavors, Bains has learned firsthand that genuine progress is forged through resilience—by testing concepts, analyzing what fails, and refining the approach continuously. She closed her advice with an encouraging message to the next generation: participants should believe implicitly in the validity of their ideas, keeping in mind that impactful innovation requires neither adulthood nor formal expertise, but simply imagination and determination.
Registration and submissions for the 2026–27 Innovate National Schools Challenge are now officially open. Eligible student groups in Years 7, 8, and 9 from state-funded schools across England can register via the Victoria and Albert Museum’s official website. To support students and educators throughout the design process, the museum has provided a comprehensive suite of resources, including a dedicated theme inspiration pack alongside specialized Teacher and Student Toolkits designed to guide participants from initial brainstorming to final project submission.