Students seek green solutions as part of Laurier UX Design for Change challenge

Jan. 27, 2021
For Immediate Release

Brantford – Wilfrid Laurier University is set to host a four-week virtual user experience (UX) design challenge that will see university and college students from across Canada tackle problems related to climate change for the chance to win $8,500 in cash prizes.

Design for Change will challenge students to develop and design solutions to help transform social behaviour toward greener and more sustainable practices. From March 1 to 27, students can participate in workshops and will have access to mentorship from industry leaders as they work on their design. Students can participate alone, in pairs, or teams of three and no prior UX experience is required.

“UX design is all about creating solutions to complex problems and doing so from a human-centred perspective,” said Abby Goodrum, Laurier's User Experience Design program coordinator. “I'm hoping that students taking part in this design challenge will not only come away with new skills but also the ability to create innovative user-centred designs that can have a real impact on the environment and global climate change.”

Top finalists will be chosen to pitch to judges live on March 27. Judges will evaluate student submissions based on design process, usefulness, innovation and impact. The winning team will receive $5,000, the second-place team $2,500 and the third-place team $1,000.

Design for Change is presented by Laurier's User Experience Design program and sponsored by Scotiabank. There is no cost to participate, but space is limited. Registration opens Jan. 25 and closes Feb. 28. For more information, visit hackworks.com/en/design-for-change.