The Stanford Center on Longevity invites university students (undergrad and graduate) from around the world to compete to win the grand prize of $10,000 USD in the 2025-2026 Design Challenge, "Prevention by Design: Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Long Lives." Designs may be physical products, digital solutions, or programs that help make life transitions more healthy or meaningful.

Submissions are open now; the deadline is December 1, 2025.

How it works:

• Students may submit a design for a product, service, or program that addresses the Challenge theme (Prevention by Design: Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Long Lives.” – more on that below) online any time between September 15 and December 1, 2025.
• 6-8 Finalist teams will be announced on January 21, 2026. 
• Finalist teams are awarded:
  • $1K Finalist award.
  • Pairing with an experienced mentor.
  • Funding to travel to Stanford in April 2026 (conditions permitting) to present their design at the Finals, competing for the $10K first prize.

  • Participation in a business plan development workshop hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Eligibility:

• Students from all majors/fields of study are welcome to participate!
• Each team must have at least one full-time undergraduate or graduate student who is enrolled during the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Designs may be submitted solo (by one person). Teams may have up to 5 members.

• Team members may be from different universities. Team members may also be non-students, but if the team is selected for the finals, only the student members may present at the final competition.

About “Prevention by Design: Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Long Lives” 

Preventive health has become increasingly critical in the face of longer lives and rising chronic disease rates. The Stanford Center on Longevity’s New Map of Life envisions a future where health is not just about treating illness but about building lifestyle habits, and environments conducive to those habits, that increase resilience and improve well-being for people of all ages and backgrounds. The 2025-2026 Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge invites student designers to create solutions (e.g., physical products, digital solutions, community programs or services) that empower individuals to lead healthier, longer lives through lifestyle factors such as sleep, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, social relationships, and financial health, particularly with approaches that are accessible, engaging, and adaptable to diverse needs and life stages. Learn more.

For more information, visit: https://designchallenge.stanford.edu/

For questions, email: designchallenge[at]stanford.edu