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An event for Business Undergrads who want to contribute to societal good and learn design thinking

Registration for the Challenge is now closed. If you are interested in Design Thinking please join us for the Design Thinking Conference.

The Royal Roads Design Thinking Challenge provides teams of undergraduate business students the opportunity to contribute to an issue of societal concern. Students work with civic leaders to address a real-world design challenge.  

The RRDTC believes the best solutions emerge through working to deeply understand all those who are impacted by a situation, collaborating with others, tapping into our creativity, and learning through prototyping. It is an event for business students who want to move beyond “business as usual” and impact positive change. 

Solving society’s tough challenges requires working collaboratively, sharing knowledge, and building on the ideas of others. The Insight Award recognizes the wisdom and generosity of the team that has distinguished itself through advancing the insight of all RRDTC participants, beyond just members of their own team. 

WHY PARTICIPATE

  • Gain mastery in design thinking; advance your innovation acumen.
  • Work with a live client to contribute to a project that will benefit society.
  • Be mentored by judges who are industry professionals. Here are last years judges.
  • $10, 000 in prizes.

Note: All prizes are in Canadian funds and will be mailed to the winning schools and not to each participant. It is at the discretion of the receiving institution to distribute. 

IMPORTANT DATES

January 9, 2023

Orientation

VIRTUAL – 5:00pm – 6:00pm PST

In this webinar, we’ll provide an overview of the challenge process including the sequence of events for the online and face-to-face elements, timelines for deliverables, and the assessment framework for each deliverable.

January 16, 2023

Round 1 – Challenge Launch

VIRTUAL – 5:00pm – 6:00pm PST

This webinar will kick off the first round of the challenge which takes place asynchronously. The client video will be made available for viewing on the DT Challenge Moodle site at 8 am PST on January 16th. During this webinar, participants will have the opportunity to ask any questions they may have after watching the client video. An interactive design thinking activity will be announced for teams to participate in at the end of January. You will be required to submit a video and infographic that informs your team’s response to the challenge on February 5th.

January 27, 2023

Interactive Design Thinking Activity

VIRTUAL – 8:00am – 9:30am PST

This webinar will feature the results of the interactive design thinking activity announced on January 16th among other interactions that will set the stage for networking and collaborations, as well as an opportunity to dig deeper into Round 1 of the challenge.

February 15 – 18, 2023

Round 1 feedback and Rounds 2 & 3

VIRTUAL – daily from 7:30am – 4:00pm PST

In the second round teams will iterate their work based on the judges’ feedback from Round 1, and the third round engages teams in a final iteration of the challenge involving the client organization. During these rounds, three keynote speakers will present on topics linked to design thinking and its implementation in the real world. Stay tuned for more information about keynote speakers and webinars.   

TEAM STRUCTURE

  • One team coach  (free)
  • One assistance coach (free + optional) 
  • Minimum three students, up to five students maximum 
  • Early Registration Fee $300/per student from September 14, 2022 – October 31, 2022
  • Registration Fee $350/per student from November 1, 2022 – December 1, 2022