Stanford Center on Longevity Announces 2024 “Designing for Life Transitions” Winners
Annual Design Challenge winning team from the University of Navarra
A modular board game designed for individuals with dementia won the $10,000 grand prize on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in the Stanford Center on Longevity’s eleventh annual design challenge. Over the course of the competition, this team beat out over 220 entries from 34 countries, winning the $10,000 grand prize.
The idea for Asterisk, created by Belén García López and her mentor Professor Andres Tabera from the University of Navarra, was born when Belén visited adult day care centers and saw that while many older adults were playing chess and other board games, several, who were in the later stages of dementia, were playing with children’s games. Belén set out to make a game designed specifically for adults at different stages of cognitive function – the game can be made simpler as dementia symptoms progress – that is both engaging and helps people practice psychomotor skills. Especially important to Belén in her design process was to design with her own future life in mind, and to create a game she would enjoy playing herself as she gets older.
Second place was awarded to Bala, a digital app and game kit that provide financial literacy education for women going through midlife transitions. Creators Sara Sanwal and Arya Bhushan from Delhi Technological University saw kitty parties, which are social savings clubs commonly organized by women India, as a perfect setting in which to begin to close the financial literacy gap and ensure that women have the tools and resources to fund their long lives.
The third-place winner was LifeQuest, a real-world simulation game that teaches those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) decision-making and life skills as they become adults and seek autonomy and independence. It was created by Anjali Kalavar, Ryan Noble & Shelsea Veloz from Northwestern University and their teammate Joseph Murphy. The app includes “quests” such as cooking, housekeeping, and first aid, and leads users through guided scenarios to learn new skills.
This year’s Design Challenge was focused on finding ways to help make life transitions at any age healthier or more meaningful. The Stanford Center on Longevity’s New Map of Life project suggests that, as it becomes more common to live for 100 years, the traditional life course will become both more complex and flexible, with people moving in and out of different roles multiple times. Students were invited to create physical products, digital solutions, or programs that addressed a life transition at any point in the life span, including transitions that may be new as the result of longer lives, but around which cultural norms and resources have yet to be established.
2024 Longevity Design Challenge winners (left to right): team LifeQuest (Joseph Murphy, Ryan Noble, Shelsea Veloz, Anjali Kalavar), team Asterisk (Belén García), and team Bala (Sara Sanwal & Arya Bhushan)
The competition encourages students from any university in the world to enter their solution in competition for a $10,000 first prize and paid travel to Stanford to present to an audience of academics, investors, and corporate sponsors. In addition to travel support, all finalists received a $1000 award, pairing with an experienced mentor, and a half-day entrepreneurial workshop in which they are introduced to ideas and resources about how to take their product or service to market. The entire competition is industry-sponsored and free to enter, enabling students from all circumstances to participate.
Here are this year’s winners and finalists:
FIRST PRIZE
Asterisk
Belén García López & Andres Tabera
University of Navarra, Spain
Asterisk is a modular board game designed for individuals with dementia that focuses on cognitive stimulation and fine motor skills.
SECOND PRIZE
Bala
Sara Sanwal & Arya Bhushan
Delhi Technological University, India
Bala is a digital app and game kit that provide financial literacy education for women support groups.
THIRD PRIZE
LifeQuest
Anjali Kalavar, Ryan Noble, Shelsea Veloz, & Joseph Murphy
Northwestern University, USA
LifeQuest is a tablet simulation game that helps those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) learn important life skills.
FINALISTS
KUR
Celine Barbara Gwiza, Aline Utetiwabo, Justus Wamswa Chemirmir, & Yash Sailesh Chudasama
African Leadership College, Mauritius & Princeton University, USA
KUR is an online platform that provides practical tips and resources for first-time parents, including local programs and access to featured relevant businesses in Rwanda.
Limitless Financial
Nataly Serur, Barbara Zapata, & Raul Zamora
Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico
Limitless Financial is an online platform that teaches teenagers money management and guides them toward financial stability.
Reframe
Katelyn Chen & Christy Wang
Stanford University, USA
Reframe is an activity set with an integrated mobile app that helps students explore potential paths in the transition from school to career.
Setu
Tanmay Wadhankar & Tanvi Mathur
Delhi Technological University, India
Setu is an online platform that links recently retired individuals with young start-ups, fostering an intergenerational exchange of resources.
Tradeways
Shannon Richey, Robert Bolduc, & Sarayu Polkampally
San Francisco State University, USA
Tradeways is a service designed to raise awareness of skilled trade career opportunities and foster community among young adults interested in trades and non-college pathways.
SPONSORS
Target
Finance of America Reverse
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Eskaton
Halbert Hargrove
Odyssey Group Coaching, LLC
Tushara Dilanie
Wealth Architects
JUDGES
Samira Daswani, CEO, Manta Cares
Andrew Foster, Advanced Design Director, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates
Amelia Hay, VP of Startup Programming, AARP
John Hutchens, VP of Revenue Optimization, Finance of America Reverse
Mark Johnsen, CEO & Founder, Wealth Architects
Sheri Peifer, CEO, Eskaton
FINALIST SELECTION JUDGES
Nicholas Bernhardt-Lanier, Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company
Adriana Betiol, Principal Consultant, Interfácil Usabilidade
Larry A. Bonistalli, Lifestyle & Wellness Best Ager Advocate
Max Bosel, Founder of Code 4 Finances, Former Police Chief
Tushara Dilanie Canekeratne, Founder & CEO, Nadastra, Inc.
Siew Kai Choy, Board Member, FactSet Inc.; DCI Fellow, Stanford University
Mark Clapper, Advisor, Wellness Pillar, Stanford DCI; Leader, dciX Speaker Series, Stanford DCI
Kate Coleman, Founder, Coleman Consulting Group, LLC
Michele Evans, CEO/Founder NxtWaves (Former Meta/Microsoft HR Executive)
Kayla Ferguson, Grants Program Manager, Davis Phinney Foundation
Kate Jerome, CoFounder, Little Bridges; Author; Publishing Executive
John Hutchens, SVP, Revenue Optimization, Finance of America Reverse
Yulia Kholodova, Co-founder and CPO @ Indlovu App
Luciana Lins, Former International Trade Advisor
Melinda McGee, Director of Finance and Operations, Emerita, Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University
Dianne Millner, Stanford Center on Longevity Ambassador
Mohammed Mishal, Consultant, PwC
Mick Murray, Senior Business Advisor, Former Chief Financial Officer
Patty O’Brien White, Co-Founder and COO, ReBoot Accel, Inc.
Glenn Osaka, Consulting Executive, Advisor, and Board Director
Maria Pacheco, Former Executive Director, Kinesis Foundation
Marshal Pang, Founder Adviser and Investor
Abhi Patwardhan, Startup Mentor
Olga Pottle (Khardaeva), Chartered MCIPD, People management professional
Christine Ramirez, VP, UX Design, Finance of America Companies
Julia Randell-Khan, Director of Partnerships, The Purpose Xchange
Mehbs Remtulla, Founder + CEO, What’s neXT?!
Maca Rojas, UX Researcher, Honda R&D
Jim Rowe, Financial Services Executive, Strategic Advisor
Avanish Sahai, Board Member, Advisor, Investor and Former Tech Executive
Faye Sahai, Founding Managing Partner, Telosity Ventures, Board Member, Innovation Advisor
Pam Sherwin, Co-Founder, Graham Sherwin Studio, Inc.
Madhu Shetti, CEO/Founder, Balmere
David Silk, Of Counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Luciano Snel Correa, Former CEO and Partner of Icatu Seguros and Icatu Vanguarda Asset Management
Jodi Starkman, Executive Director, IRC4HR
Linda Tarplin, Cofounder, Tarplin, Downs and Young, LLC
Therese ten Brinke, Executive Director, Innovation and Impact, Eskaton
Peche Turner, Manager (emerita), Computer Science Department
Emilio Umeoka, Former VP Enterprise Sales, Apple
Barbara Waxman, Founder and CEO, Odyssey Group Coaching LLC
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO, 20-first
Tami Zhu, AI and Digital Media Executive
About the Longevity Design Challenge
The Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge is a global competition aimed at encouraging students to design products and services to improve the lives of people across all ages. Established in 2013, the Challenge is focused on ways to motivate and empower people in their daily lives both inside their homes and in their community.
The challenge is made possible by generous sponsorship from a number of companies and foundations, including, Target, Honda Motor Company, Finance of America Reverse, Procter and Gamble, Eskaton, Halbert Hargrove, Odyssey Group Coaching LLC, and Tushara Dilanie Canekeratne.
For more information, visit http://designchallenge.stanford.edu
The challenge is made possible by generous sponsorship from a number of companies and foundations. Lead sponsorship is provided by Target and Finance of America Reverse. Additional financial support has been provided by American Honda Motor Co., Eskaton, Halbert Hargrove, Odyssey Group Coaching, Tushara Dilanie, and Wealth Architects.
About the Stanford Center on Longevity
The mission of the Stanford Center on Longevity is to redesign long life. The Center promotes the acceleration and implementation of scientific discoveries, technological advances, behavioral practices, and social norms so that century long lives are healthy and rewarding. Founded in 2007 by Laura Carstensen, PhD and Thomas Rando MD, PhD, the Center works with more than 150 Stanford faculty, their students and research staffs, as well as leaders from industries, thought leaders, and policy makers to develop workable solutions for urgent issues confronting the world as the population ages. For more information, visit http://longevity.stanford.edu
Follow the Stanford Center on Longevity for more updates – including announcements on “Reimagining Education and Learning for Long Lives,” the theme for our 2024-2025 Longevity Design Challenge!