Want to return to campus wiser and richer?
Gain interview-worthy experience in human-centered design, one of the hottest methods being used today, and have a chance to win cash prizes totaling $3,000.
Who can participate?
Any student enrolled at UGA.
How big are the teams?
We prefer teams of at least 2 or more.
What’s my time commitment?
Each Tuesday we hold a 60–75 minute session starting at 5:30 pm with subject matter experts. There is a weekly deliverable due Fridays to keep your challenge on track.
Value to students:
- Work on a CHALLENGE of interest to YOU
- Develop creative self-efficacy
- Learn Design Thinking tools
- Practice teamwork skills
- Build your resume
Which disciplines can participate?
We encourage students of all levels and disciplines to participate.
Winner Receives
- Cash prizes totaling $3,000
- Opportunities to continue product development in an entrepreneurship or accelerator program
Program Information
Kickoff Meeting:
July 15, 2025 at 5:30pm via Zoom
Final Pitch Presentations:
Thursday, August 21, 2025
5:00 PM at Studio 225
225 W. Broad Street, Athens, GA
Contact
Program Topics by Week
Session 1 – July 15, 2025
Human Centered Design and Discovery
Learning objectives:
- Develop an understanding of the Design Thinking process and how it can be applied in a variety of settings
- Learn techniques to understand users’/clients’ motivations and gather deeper insights (asking “why?” to dig for meaning, seeking stories, exploring emotions)
- Practice truly listening, assuming a beginner’s mindset, testing their assumptions, and moving beyond judgment
Session 2 – July 22, 2025
Field Work and Empathy
Learning objectives:
- Understand how Design Thinking addresses human needs and builds from empathy
- Learn three tools to assist in the identification of needs
- Stakeholder Mapping
- Context Mapping
- Affinity Clustering
- Apply these tools to their particular challenge
- Define needs to be used in Problem Statement
Session 3 – July 29, 2025
Problem Definition
Learning objectives:
- Apply learning/points of views developed through the Human Centered Design module to re-frame the challenge
- Identify problem definition methods in order to recognize patterns and triangulate insights
- Draft an actionable and compelling problem statement for their particular challenge
Session 4 – August 5, 2025
Ideation
Learning objectives:
- Increase knowledge and skills in the best practices for ideation
- Master the interplay of divergent and convergent thinking in developing breakthrough ideas
- Enhance ability to think laterally
- Build capacity to translate diversity of talents and perspectives into ideas
Session 5 – August 12, 2025
Prototype and Pitch
Learning objectives:
- Understand how Design Thinking leads to rapid prototyping of inexpensive solutions that can readily be tested
- Learn three tools used for prototyping and pitching
- Sketching
- Business Model Canvas
- Design Brief
- Design a Pitch of their solution for business and investors