LONGEVITY DESIGN CHALLENGE

2025

Reimagining Education and Learning for Long Lives

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!


Congratulations to our winners and finalists, whose innovative solutions and thoughtful approaches exemplify the creativity and dedication needed to shape a better future for all generations.

  • 1st Place: Bloom (School of Visual Arts, USA) – An app that helps unemployed youth explore career paths and overcome mental health challenges through activity-based self-discovery.

  • 2nd Place: Flo (Indian Institute of Technology, India) – A deck-building card game inspired by ikigai, guiding players to connect personal abilities with real-world challenges.

  • 3rd Place: Praxice (University of Maribor, Slovenia) – A web platform that helps young professionals turn academic knowledge into practical IT job skills.


Read more

Learn more about this year’s Challenge


OVERVIEW

The Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge is a global competition that encourages students to design products and services to improve well-being across the lifespan. In its twelfth year, the Challenge is focused on reimagining education and learning for longer lives.

LONGEVITY DESIGN CHALLENGE GOALS:

  1. Create well-designed, practical solutions that improve well-being across the lifespan
  2. Encourage a new generation of students to become knowledgeable about issues associated with long lives
  3. Provide promising designers with a path to drive change in the world

ABOUT THE 2024-25 DESIGN CHALLENGE THEME:
Reimagining Education and Learning for Long Lives

To fully engage with our long lives, we must change our approach to learning and education. Rather than going to school for a fixed number of years when we’re young, the Stanford Center on Longevity’s New Map of Lifeenvisions learning new knowledge and skills throughout our lives, regardless of age.

Recognizing the integral relationship between education, health, and longevity, the challenge emphasizes the importance of innovative approaches that promote cognitive, physical, and financial well-being across the lifespan. From incorporating movement into learning environments to ensuring that everyone has the skills they need for whatever changes come their way, including switching careers or dealing with new technology, there are many opportunities to broaden our understanding of learning and establish it as a lifelong pursuit.

Students are invited to create solutions that expand or rethink education and learning opportunities at any age, particularly those that close opportunity gaps and ensure equitable access to educational opportunities for all, regardless of socio-economic background or age.

Examples of longevity education and learning needs include (but are not limited to):

  • Creating pathways for non-traditional education
  • Supporting educational return at any stage of adulthood
  • Providing support resources for continuing education
  • Supporting career and life transitions through reskilling
  • Fostering intergenerational education and learning
  • Laying the foundation for lifelong success in early education
  • Incorporating play and physical movement in learning
  • Ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities
  • Teaching skills for healthy longevity
  • Designing physical environments conducive to learning for all ages
  • Offering flexible and modular learning pathways
  • Leveraging technology for lifelong learning
  • Utilizing data and analytic techniques to improve learning
  • Promoting mental and cognitive health through learning
  • Integrating cultural and community-based learning

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Register to participate and submit your entry here: https://designchallengestanford.skild.com/

Register to Participate
Register to participate here between September 9 – December 4, 2024. You may participate as an individual or as part of a team. Teams may have a maximum of 5 members. See the “Teams and eligibility” section of the FAQ below for more information about team rules. If you are registering as a team, the person who registers first will be designated the team leader. They can then add everyone else as team members.

Prepare your submission
You can view all the materials you will need to prepare in this preview of the entry form. Please see the “Submissions” sections of the FAQ below for more information about the entry form. If you still have questions, please email [email protected].

Submit your design
Once you have prepared your materials, log in and complete the entry form. The form will be open from September 9 until 11:59 PM Pacific time on December 4, 2024.

After the December 4 deadline, the judges will evaluate all submitted designs according to the judging criteria (see the Details section below for more information).

Finalists
Finalists will be announced on January 29, 2025. Finalists will be awarded $1,000 US and paired with an experienced mentor.

Finalists will compete in the final competition for $10,000 in April 2025. The finals are expected to be held in-person at Stanford University. Finalists are reimbursed (limited) travel costs. Each team will have 7 minutes to pitch their idea to the panel of judges. The judges will use the same criteria as for the initial submissions and will decide the top three winners on the same day as the pitches.

DETAILS

CHALLENGE TIMELINE
The challenge is organized into two phases that are synchronized with the academic year.

Phase I:  September – December 2024
Phase I is the open call portion of the challenge. During this time, teams will learn about the topic and create their solution concept. The Challenge organizing team will be available during this time for questions. Solutions may be submitted at any time during this period, but no judging feedback will be available until January.

Judging Period: December 2024 – January 2025
During this period, our judging panel will select a small number of finalists. Finalists will be announced in late January.

Phase II: January 2025 – April 2025
During Phase II, finalists will be asked to further develop their idea and to prepare a presentation. Mentors from corporate partners and industry experts will be available during this period.

 KEY DATES

  • Kick-off: Monday, September 9, 2024
  • Phase I submissions due: Wednesday, December 4, 2024
  • Finalists (5-8 teams) announced: Wednesday, January 29, 2025
  • Finals: April 2025 (exact day TBA)

AWARDS
Top winners receive cash prizes of $10,000 (1st place), $5,000 (2nd place), $2,000 (3rd place).

Finalists receive a $1,000 cash prize and mentorship from industry experts and researchers.

ELIGIBILITY
The challenge is open to teams of 1-5 students enrolled during the 2024-2025 academic year, attending any accredited university or college globally.  Each team must have at least one full-time student and if the team is selected as a Finalist, only students may present.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Any intellectual property developed by a team during participation in the Design Challenge will remain the property of the individual design team, or the team members’ universities or employers, as applicable. The Stanford Center on Longevity and Challenge sponsors reserve the right to publicize designs following submission. Teams interested in intellectual property protection should take any steps necessary to protect patentable inventions, copyrighted work or other intellectual property prior to submission. Team involvement with any of the Challenge sponsors is strictly voluntary. Agreements between teams and sponsors are beyond the reach of Stanford Center on Longevity or Stanford University, and should be arranged separately between the teams and sponsors.

JUDGING CRITERIA
The Challenge will be judged by experts in design and technology including carefully selected academics with expertise on the topic; executives from technology and consumer goods firms; venture capitalists; and senior representatives from related mission-driven organizations.

Judging Criteria 

  • 40% Impact – will the design improve long life outcomes?
  • 30% Originality – has this idea been seen before? Is there something similar to it on the market?
  • 20% Feasibility – will the design work? Can it be produced at scale?
  • 10% Affordability – teams must identify their target population for the design. Would the cost of the design at scale make it a viable product for that population?

A separate score reflecting alignment of the design to the topic will be added as a weight to the overall score. For example, if a design were to score 90% on the judging criteria above but only 50% on alignment, the overall score would be 45% (.90 X .50).

SPONSORSHIP

LEVELS AND BENEFITS OF SPONSORSHIP

 PLATINUM SPONSOR ($50k +)
• Receives all benefits as per Gold Sponsor (below)
• Receives online and offline Platinum Sponsor recognition
• Acts as a strategic partner in creating the structure of the challenge
• Option for SCL presentation at Platinum Sponsor meeting or event

GOLD SPONSOR ($20k)
• Receives all benefits as per Silver Sponsor (below)
• Receives online and offline Gold Sponsor recognition
• Has the opportunity to provide a judge for the competition
• Is offered access to all designs submitted in December 2024
• Is offered a corporate presence at the Awards ceremony in April 2025

SILVER SPONSOR ($10k)
• Receives online and offline Silver Sponsor recognition
• Has the opportunity to provide tailored content to educate teams through the challenge website
• Is offered the opportunity to mentor teams during the incubator period

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Marie Conley-Smith at [email protected].

FAQ

Teams and eligibility

Who is eligible to participate in the Longevity Design Challenge?

The Challenge is open to teams of 1-5 members and is primarily a competition for university students: at least one team member must be a student enrolled at an accredited university or college from anywhere in the world during the 2024-2025 school year. Students may be undergraduate or graduate (e.g., masters, PhD) students.

Can my team consist of students from multiple universities?

Yes! Teams may consist of students from multiple universities, from anywhere in the world.

Can non-university (e.g., high school) students participate?

Other (non-university) students may participate in the Design Challenge, but only as part of a team which contains at least one university (undergraduate or graduate) student.

Can a team have members who are not students?

Yes! A team may be a mix of students and non-students (of any age).

If a team is chosen for the finals, only team members who are students may participate in the final presentation.

Can I submit a design by myself?

Yes! You may participate as an individual.

Can I/my team submit more than one design?

Yes! You may be a member on multiple teams and/or submit multiple designs. In the submission portal you will need to submit each design under a different email address. We do, however, recommend spending more time on one design in order to make sure your submission is high quality, rather than submitting many designs.

Submissions

What kinds of materials do I need to submit to participate in the Longevity Design Challenge?

All materials are to be submitted through the submission platform: https://designchallengestanford.skild.com/.

When is the last day to submit a design?

The submission deadline for the 2024-2025 Longevity Design Challenge is Wednesday, December 4, 2024. The submission portal will close at 11:59 pm (23:59) Pacific time on December 4.

What types of designs are accepted by the Longevity Design Challenge?

Many types of designs are accepted in the Longevity Design Challenge. It could be a program you implement in your community, an app or software, a product for people to use, or anything else that will help people live long and healthy lives under the current topic, “Reimagining Education and Learning For Long Lives.”

Do I have to produce/implement my design for the competition?

You do not need to have a product made for the December submission deadline. We are just looking for a thorough explanation (text, and pictures/video if applicable) of what your product will be. Then, if your idea is chosen as a finalist, that’s a great time to start developing it more fully.

If you are able to make a prototype before the December deadline and able to conduct some user testing, it can help to share your results in your submission. It can be really early stages user testing, like with family and friends (who hopefully fit into whichever demographics you are designing for). Or if you don’t have a product to test yet, you can also do user interviews to get feedback on your idea.

What are the judging criteria, and what do they mean?

Longevity Design Challenge submissions are scored on 5 criteria:

Impact: The primary question behind the “impact” criteria is “will the design improve long life outcomes?” Because this is a longevity design challenge, we want to know if the design will help people be healthier (physically, emotionally, socially, etc.) or more purposeful in a way that will help improve their lives.

Originality: Does your design represent an original idea? Has your idea been seen before? Is there something similar to it on the market? A new design will earn a higher score in this criterion.

Feasibility: Will your design work in the real world? Can the design be produced at scale (e.g., for most/all of the population it is meant to serve)? Your design may be a very interesting or compelling idea, but it needs to be feasible to bring it to life to get high marks in this criterion.

Affordability: Will your users be able to afford your design when it is produced at scale? This is why the judges want to know who your design is for: e.g., Is it for children? Older adults? People with low incomes? They will also want to know how much your design will cost its users when it is produced at scale.

Fit to theme: Is your design relevant to this year’s design theme, “Reimagining Education and Learning for Long Lives”? You can read more about this theme on our website.

What is expected in a submission video?

We recommend uploading a short (i.e., maximum 90 seconds) video that will help the judges understand your design. A video is not required for entry.

The entry form asks for “documentation that will help evaluate your proposal.” What type of documentation?

This field is meant for any materials you think might present your idea more clearly alongside your text answers in the following fields. For example, you might describe how your idea works in the text fields, but you think it would be helpful to include a visual or flow chart of it, so you could include PowerPoint or PDF slides that contain visual mock-ups of how your idea works. It is not required to include any extra materials.

Do I need to include citations in my design description?

This may not apply to everyone. If you would like to include citations, don’t worry too much about including a lot of citations (the judges just need enough information to understand your idea), but if you feel that there are sources that are important to include, please include some kind of citation along with the links so that we can see the title, publication year, and authors (in case the link doesn’t work for us). You may use any citation format.

Is there mentorship available during the submission process?

The Longevity Design Challenge team isn’t big enough to offer general mentoring in the first phase of the competition, but if you have a specific question about your project, you may email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to answer it or to try to help find a resource. This is also a great time to take advantage of your university’s resources. The 6-8 teams that are selected for the finals will each be paired with a mentor.

Prizes

What are the cash prizes for this competition?

  • Finalist teams (announced in January): $1000 US
  • Grand prizes (determined at the final competition in April):
  • 1st place: $10000 US
  • 2nd place: $5000 US
  • 3rd place: $2000 US

How are the cash prizes paid out?

Each finalist team is asked to designate one team member to receive prize money and that person is responsible for disseminating it to the other team members. That person will be asked to provide bank information for a wire transfer, and a tax identification number (if applicable).

Is the prize money subject to US taxes?

Yes. Prize money received will be reported on tax form 1099.  Tax forms are distributed at the beginning of the following calendar year. (US taxes are filed before April 15 for the prior year.)

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UPDATES

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@StanfordLngLife
@longevitycenter
#SCLdesign • #DesignChallenge • #StanfordDesignChallenge • #LongLife • #DesignLongLife

Video recordings of the 2023 @LongevityCenter Design Challenge Finals are now available! 📽️Watch now: 🚶‍♀️Keynote address by Prof Steve Collins about designing exoskeletons to sustain mobility 📢Pitches by the outstanding finalist teams 🏆Awards 🎉And more! longevity.stanford.edu/design…

About 2 years ago from Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge's Twitter

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2023-2024 | “Designing for Life Transitions”

The 2024 Longevity Design Challenge focused on making life transitions more positive and meaningful for people of all ages.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Asterisk” from University of Navarra, Spain
  • Second Place – “Bala” from Delhi Technological University, India
  • Third Place – “LifeQuest” from Northwestern University, USA

View the 2024 Finals

See Winners Announcement

2022-2023 | “Optimizing Health Span: Living Well at Every Age”

The 2022 Longevity Design Challenge focused on the optimization of health span at any age.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Variable Reactive Board” from Pratt Institute & New York University, USA
  • Second Place – “Unpause Life” from NMIMS School of Design, India
  • Third Place – “2 Care” from Tunghai University, Ming Chi University of Technology, and National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan

View the 2023 Finals

See winners announcement

2021-2022 | “Longevity-Ready Environments: Rethinking Physical Spaces for Century-Long Lives”

The 2022 Longevity Design Challenge focused on designing physical spaces that better support century-long lives.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Sarewa” from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria
  • Second Place –“Karpolax” from Makerere University, Uganda
  • Third Place – “Spore” from North Carolina State University & Boston College, USA

View the 2021 Virtual Finals

See Winners Announcement

2020-2021 | “After the Pandemic: Designing the Next Version of Our World”

The 2021 Longevity Design Challenge focused on ideas inspired by the cultural shift that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic that support long, healthy, and happy lives for everyone.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Foris Labs” from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria
  • Second Place – “PhoneBook” from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA
  • Third Place – “Wulu” from Harvard Kennedy School, USA (team located in India)

View the 2021 Virtual Finals

See Winners Announcement

2019-2020 | “Reducing the Inequity Gap: Designing for Affordability”

The 2020 Longevity Design Challenge focused on significantly reducing the cost of innovations that help people at all ages increase their odds of a long and healthy life.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Shishu, Sui aur Dhaaga” from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru, India
  • Second Place – “School in the Sky” from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA
  • Third Place – “The First Desk” from the Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China
View the 2020 Virtual Finals

2018-2019 | “Contributing at Every Age: Designing for Intergenerational Impact”

We invited teams to submit proposals for designs that promote and facilitate intergenerational interaction.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Family Room” by Anand Upender, Daniel Chan, Mina Bhatt, Nadine Levine, Stanford University
  • First Place – “So You Think You Know Your Grandma” by Ismail Azam, Inaara Charolia, Rani Cochran, Ashna Mangla, Lillian Tran UC Berkeley
  • Second Place – “Pillow Fight!” by Hung-Yu Chen, Chor-Kheng Lim, Ching-Chia Renn, YuanZe University, Taipei
See overview video

2017-2018 | “Promoting Lifelong Habits through Design”

We invited teams to submit proposals for designs to create and support healthy habits –including financial, physical, and social behaviors—which are shown to improve quality of life.

Winners:

  • First Place – “Ride Rite” by Eric Bottelsen, Eric Lord, Maya Pines, and Drew Sigler from Virginia Tech
  • Second Place – “Gesturecise” by Nakul Kasture, Nikhil Kumar, Akshat Mandloi, and Purvish Shah from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
  • Third Place – “Grow and Gather” by Seira Yasumatsu of San Francisco State University.

banner_12016-2017 | “Aging in Place”

The challenge invited submissions to address the factors that allow individuals and families to remain in their homes throughout the lifespan and into old age.

Winners:

  • First Place – “TAME” by  Hooriya Anam, Awais Shafique, and Arsalan Javed  from the  National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Second Place – “Rendever” by Charles Lin and Kyle Rand at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Third Place – “UPPO” by Lane Hering, Emma Lee, Charlene Lertlumprasert, Genesis Solano, and Gerrold Walker from Virginia Tech

Skipso_graphic_22015-2016 | “Using Happiness to Optimize Longevity”

The challenge invited submissions to address three tracks: Mind, Mobility, and Financial Security, reflective of the Center on Longevity’s mission to enable people to reach old age Mentally Sharp, Physically Fit, and Financially Secure.

Winners:

“Delight the Mind” (Mind Challenge)

  • First Place – “Memoir Monopoly” from Cho Szu-Yang and Cheng Ya-Fang of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
  • Second Place – “Bath Chair” from National Yunlin University of Science (Taiwan)
  • Third Place – “Echo” from National University of Singapore

“Discover the Motion” (Mobility Challenge)

  • First Place – “City Cart” from Brandon Lopez and Eric Renard of San Francisco State University
  • Second Place – “Yedi70” from Koc University at Istanbul
  • Third Place – “POTALK” from National Chiao-Tung University (Taiwan)

Note: Insufficient entries were received to select finalists and make awards in the financial track.

Home_22014-2015 | “Enabling Personal Mobility Across the Life Span”

The 2014-2015 Challenge invited designer to create solutions for empowering mobility among older adults at a personal level by: (1) reducing sedentary lifestyles, (2) encouraging and enabling physical movement and exercise, and (3) reducing barriers and increasing facilitators to mobility in the home and community.

  • First Place – Nicholas Steigmann and Maiya Jensen from the California College of the Arts and their project “SPAN”
  • Second Place – “HandleBar” from the University of California, Berkeley
  • Third Place – “Luna Lights” from Northwestern University
  • Stanford Longevity Technology Prize – “Flipod” from National University of Singapore

design_challenge_home32013-2014 | “Maximizing Independence for those with Cognitive Impairment”

This 2013-2014 challenge focused on designing new solutions to keep individuals with cognitive impairment independent for as long as possible. The challenge asked designer to identify issues around quality of life, personal independence, and helping people experience the best parts of life for as long as possible.

  • First Place – “EatWell” by Sha Yao from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco
  • Second Place – “Taste+” from the KEIO-NUS CUTE center at the National University of Singapore
  • Third Place – “Memory Maps” from the Copenhagen Institute of Design

Read more about the winners >

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