Every year, some of the top minds in design and health gather to award cash prizes and mentorship to contestants of the Stanford Center for Longevity Design Challenge. The goal is to bring together the best and brightest students from around the globe to find ways to enhance the quality of life across the lifespan.
Stanford awards thousands of dollars in cash prizes, along with entrepreneurial guidance, to promising teams of students enrolled in accredited universities or colleges worldwide. Finalists get an expenses-paid trip to Stanford to present their entries to academic, industry, and government leaders.
While each year welcomes a new theme, the competition always focuses on enriching the lives of individuals, including seniors, through design and technology. Ultimately, any design entry should promote one of the key pillars of the challenge: Healthy Living, Social Engagement, or Financial Security.
About the Previous Years
The 2017-18 challenge will be the fifth time Stanford has held the contest. In the past, contestants have tackled some of the biggest problems facing the global population.
For example, last year’s challenge took aim at improving the lives of those homebound by either choice or necessity. The three finalists offered older adults an improved sense of security and self-reliance.
The winning entry was TAME, a wearable device that uses sensors to suppress tremors. By stopping tremors, TAME gives control back to the user, and allows them to complete simple tasks that may have otherwise been impossible.
The other two finalists were Rendever, a virtual reality platform, and Uppo, a specialty walker. That’s only a few of the past winners, with others tackling issues like mobility, independence, and longevity.
This Year’s Contest
The theme for the 2017-2018 contest is “Promoting Lifelong Healthy Habits through Design.” This year’s goal is to use design to help individuals and families practice ways to make the best use of their physical, mental, and financial resources.
For the contest, Stanford will accept entries that aid people of all ages. Establishing new habits can be difficult, especially late in life. But as people continue to live longer than ever before, it’s important to take advantage of ways to enhance our quality of life in the years to come.
The submission window for new entries opened September 5 at 6AM PT. You can learn more about the concept behind this year’s challenge in the article “Promoting Lifelong Healthy Habits through Design – an Introduction.”
How the Winners Are Selected
The challenge is broken into two phases. Phase I runs from September 5 (when the theme is announced) to December 8 (when the entry window closes). Teams may submit their entry at any time during this window. Once the entry window closes, the judging period begins.
Over the course of a month (December 8 to mid-January 2018), the challenge’s panel of experts will analyze and rate the entries. From them, they will select a small number of finalists to move on to Phase II.
Once Phase II begins (January 2018-April 2018), the teams will be asked to expand upon their entries and put together a presentation to give at an Awards Ceremony. Teams will be able to meet expert mentors to get additional guidance. At the Awards Ceremony (tentatively scheduled for April 16, 2018), one representative from each team will present their ideas to the panel. The judges will then select First, Second, and Third place winners.
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The Stanford Center for Longevity Design Challenge aims to foster healthy habits and happier lives for us all, while promoting the next generation of tech developers. Soon, a new group of students will take a fresh look at issues facing millions across the globe. We can’t wait to see what they will come up with!
