Amazon-UMD design challenge

Join Amazon's Design Challenge at the University of Maryland and receive a share of up to $5,000 in prizes!

This will include a $2,500 first-place award, $1,500 second-place award, and a $1,000 third-place award.

CHALLENGE INTRODUCTION

Collaborate with students across your campus and work closely with leaders at Amazon Design to redesign a platform/app/product to be more inclusive to meet customer needs. No experience is necessary – all you need is your unique point of view. The more unique perspectives, the better! The challenge is open to all currently-enrolled undergraduate students at University of Maryland College Park and other University System of Maryland and LSAMP institutions. There are no specific major, academic program, or GPA requirements. Groups of 2 to no more than 5 people can register to participate, and individual students are also welcome.

CHALLENGE FINAL SUBMISSION

Students will submit a 10-slide PowerPoint Deck OR a video pitch no more than 5 minutes to answer:

• Who is the “customer”?

• What is the customer problem that you are attempting to address with your design?

• How do your design features solve the customer problem?

CHALLANGE BRIEF

Please read the full design challenge brief here.

CHALLANGE TIMELINE

• Attend a 90-minute online information session on Monday, March 14 or a 45-minute recap on Tuesday, March 15 at 6:30 PM EST.

  • Industry leaders at Amazon Design will share the actual design challenge prompt, professional tips and strategies for winning design ideation and creation, and provide you with examples and templates.

  • At least one person from each would-be team is encouraged to attend one of the information sessions.

  • Please click this link at the start of each information session to join!

• Register your team by Friday, March 18 at 5:00 PM EST.

  • Teams must complete the registration to officially claim their position in the challenge and notify us of their members. Consider picking teammates from different majors and different backgrounds to make your team well rounded.

  • Looking for a teammate? Fill the teammate search form and reach out to other students looking for one.

• Design at your own pace from Friday, March 15 – Saturday, April 2.

  • Meet with your team to work on the challenge. Groups can expect to spend about 5 – 10 hours on design. The amount of research you choose to complete and the number of team members in your group will influence the time commitment for each person. Please note that all the work you produce will be owned by you for your future use.

• Meet with an Amazon designer during office hours to seek input on your concept or design. This will be a unique opportunity for students to network with, and get inspired by professionals at one of the biggest companies in the world.

• Office hours will be held on Zoom, and dates with imbedded links are below. The meeting ID for each sessions is 733 372 4256

  • Design Challenge Office Hour 1: Thursday, March 17, 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST

  • Design Challenge Office Hour 2: Monday, March 21, 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST

  • Design Challenge Office Hour 3: Wednesday, March 23, 6:00 - 7:00 PM EST

  • Design Challenge Office 4: Tuesday, March 29, 6:00 -7:00 PM EST

• Submit your final design by Saturday, April 2 at 11:59 PM EST.

  • Was submitted, a panelist of UMD faculty and staff will review all submissions to determine finalists who will be notified by Wednesday, April 6. Finalists will then be invited to share their designs with the UMD community and Amazon leaders at Amazon Day on Friday, April 8 when the winners will be chosen.