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Create technology to empower individuals living with various conditions and disabilities.
Technology for Living is now accepting applications from individuals and teams for the Simon Cox Student Design Competition – a design challenge to enhance the quality of life for people with physical challenges.
As participants of the 2025 Simon Cox Student Design Competition, teams will have access to several benefits; including access to Technology for Living PEERS, Biomedical Engineering Technologists and Innovation Strategist, to help validate their project. Along with the support of Technology for Living, teams will have the opportunity to win cash prizes totalling $10,000!
Participant Criteria
Teams of more than 5 competitors compete in the Open Category. The Open Category will not be awarded in a year where only one team enters.
All teams are eligible for the Peers’ Choice Award.
Competition Stage Round One
Video by April 10, 2025
All participating teams must provide the link to a video presentation by April 10, 2025, as well as any other information they feel is relevant to provide the TFL finalist selection committee with a thorough understanding of their project. Students do not need to have completed their project by this date, but they need to send us information as to where they are as well as the improvements that will be made by the final presentation date. Based on the information provided, along with the video link, the TFL finalist selection committee will select several teams to enter stage two of the competition. These selected teams will each receive a $250 award for being a competition finalist and will present their final project in front of a judging panel, and other competition attendees, April 26, 2025 to compete in the final prize categories.
All teams (not only finalist teams) will be offered a space to showcase their project at the live event on April 26, 2025 and will be eligible for the PEER’s Choice Award. Teams are required to let the Simon Cox Student Design Competition Committee know that they would like a free booth to display their project at the event.
Prize winners will be announced on April 26, 2025 at the live event and a YouTube video will be released on May 6, 2025.
Judging Criteria
Submitted projects MUST be related to Assistive Technology and have a goal of increasing independence for people with physical disabilities.
Accepted projects will be judged on the following criteria:
- Innovation (originality of design concept)
- Design Quality, including:
> Mechanical Design
> Electrical Design
> Software Design - Usefulness to person with physical disability
- Presentation that showcases the projects usefulness, design quality, and innovation, clearly and concisely
Working with a PEER (person with physical disability) is not mandatory, but feedback from a PEER is essential to creating a device that is useful to a person with physical disability. TFL PEERS are available to provide feedback at any point during your project.
If your project is a continuation of a project from a previous team/year, the previous version will be taken into consideration during judging. If the previous version won a Simon Cox Design Competition award, the current version will be ineligible to win a prize.
Teams of more than 5 will compete in the Open Category. The Open Category will not be awarded in a year where only one team enters.
Competition Stage Round Two
Final Presentations and Awards April 26, 2025, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre
Finalist teams (determined during Round One) will present their project to the judging panel, and other interested PEERs, on April 26, 2025. Finalist teams will be given 15 minutes to present/demo their project. Only judges will be able to ask follow up questions during the team presentations. All other attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions at the teams’ booths before or after their presentation.
Finalist teams that are not based in Metro Vancouver, will have the opportunity to give their final presentation virtually, upon approval from the Simon Cox Student Design Competition Committee.
After watching the finalists’ presentations, the judging panel will select the award winners for the 2025 Simon Cox Student Design Competition.
*Finalist teams must host a project booth, with the exception of non-local teams, where they will have the ability to demonstrate their projects and answer any questions from judges, PEERs, and attendees. Project booths will be available to all competition teams, not only finalists, and all teams are eligible to win the $1000 Peer’s Choice Award as voted on at a Peer Hub meeting.
To ensure there is space for attending teams to showcase their projects, teams are required to let the Simon Cox Student Design Competition Committee know they will be attending.
Awards
- Simon Cox Principal Award (1st): $3,000
- Achievement Award (2nd): $2,000
- Innovation Award (3rd): $1,000
- Open Category: $3,000 for teams of 6 or more
- Peers’ Choice Award (open to all teams as voted on by persons with disabilties): $1,000
Final Presentation
In 2025 we will be showcasing the final results of the competition again at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre. Stay tuned for more information.
Important Dates 2024/2025
September 2024 / February 2025
Technology for Living peers and TIL team members will reach out to all student teams to offer support. The use of peers is highly encouraged in the design and development of the project and will be one factor taken into consideration by the judging panel.
February 13, 2025
Final day to submit the completed application form below is February 13, 2025.
Each team member is required to download and submit a ‘Simon Cox Student Design Competition Consent & Release’ form by February 13, 2025 via email. You must be a student of a BC academic institution.
April 10, 2025
A video submission presenting the project must be received by April 10, 2025. The video must be 2-5 minutes in length and should keep in mind the competition criteria. The video should include your projects technical information, how it benefits people with disabilities, how much you’ve worked with PEERs, what improvements will be made to the project by the final presentation date of April 26, 2025 and any other information you feel is relevant to the judges understanding of your project.
Please upload your video submission to YouTube and provide us with the link to your submission using the contact form. The purpose of this video submission is to assess projects and select which teams will move onto the final round of the competition.
April 14, 2025
Teams will be notified if they will be participating in Round Two.
April 26, 2025
This year’s event will take place at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre on 818-W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9.
All teams are invited to make use of a table or an area to display and demonstrate their project entries.
May 6, 2025
At 10am the YouTube video of the event will be released.
All applicants need to fill out and submit the two forms applications below.
Students are encouraged to take photos or videos of their projects throughout the competition and forward them to the organizers with their final submission.
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