New emerging pathogens and resistance towards anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-parasitic drugs require efficient and globally accessible vaccines. We conceived a novel vaccine design based on synthetic conjugation of carbohydrate antigens to the potent lipid antigen ɑ-galactosylceramide stimulating invariant Natural Killer T cells. This vaccination strategy did not require addition of adjuvants and induced potent anti-polysaccharide immunity that provided protection against pneumococcal disease. Vaccination led to the production of high-affinity IgG antibodies, stimulated germinal centre formation, generation of iNKT cells with a T follicular helper cell phenotype, accumulation of long-lived carbohydrate-specific memory B cells and plasma cells. This novel lipid-carbohydrate vaccination strategy may also prove effective for the design of carbohydrate-based vaccines against other major pathogens.