Key dates

Key dates for the 2026 Design Challenge competition are as follows:

September 2025 – Full device specifications released
October 2025 - Registrations open
February 2026 - Registrations close, 1st student facing webinar
February 2026 to March 2026 - Curricular teams build their prototypes and compete with other teams in internal university qualifiers. The winners qualify to compete at the regional finals. Extracurricular teams qualify for the regional final automatically
April 2026
March 2026 to May 2026 - Regional Finals will be taking place in the following UK regions with the winners of these Regional Finals then moving on to compete in the National Final in October 2026
October 2026 - National Final takes place and the Grand Champion of Design Challenge 2026 is crowned at the Institution's London headquarters at One Birdcage Walk

Webinar:	Date/Time:
What is the Design Challenge? Presentation notes	Wednesday 25th Feb 2026 13:00 - 14:00
Get Ready for the Regionals – Project Management and CAD Presentation notes	Wednesday 4th March 2026
Get Ready for the Regionals – How do I win? Presentation notes	Wednesday 11th March 2026
Let’s move from the regional winners to the national winners!	Thursday 11th June 2026
Get Ready for the Design Challenge National Finals	Wednesday 2nd September 2026

Competition Event	Event Date	Event Location
Design Challenge: Wessex Regional Final	25 March 2026	Battlelab, Dorset Innovation Park, Wool, Dorchester DT2 8GB.
Design Challenge: North West Regional Final	15 April 2026	University of Greater Manchester
Design Challenge: Scottish Regional Final	5 May 2026	Robert Gordon University
Design Challenge: GLR  Regional Final	29 April 2026	University of Hertfordshire
Design Challenge: Wales Regional Final	29 April 2026	Swansea University
Design Challenge: Yorkshire Regional Final	30th April 2026	Sheffield Hallam University
Design Challenge: Midlands Regional Final	To be confirmed	To be confirmed
National Final	9 October 2026	One Birdcage Walk, London

Design Challenge