Design Challenge - Discovery Day at NPS
Student Mentor Registration
Online
Open Now
Student Mentor Developer Training
(complete training by Jan 31)School Group Registration
Online
Registration Open Until April 1, 2023
Coming Soon: Access Curriculum and Challenge Materials Here (password required)
Design Challenge Virtual Kickoff
February 1
Design Challenge Period
Online
February 1 - April 30
Design Challenge Judging Period
May 1 - 12
Winners Announcement Event
Location TBD
May 19
Rapid Innovation Design Challenge
The Naval Postgraduate School is committed to partnering with the local community to identify and attract young scientists in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These students are the future leaders who will drive transformation and innovation in these fields.

2022 Design Challenge Winners
The Design Challenge provides a unique opportunity and challenges high school students to think about, design, and develop solutions to real problems. Each challenge has many possible solutions, encourages creative thinking and teamwork, and teaches through engaging in hands-on activities. The overall goal is to build excitement about STEM and encourage them to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Developed through a collaboration with Aecern and the use of their Scoutlier platform, the Design Challenge program and its associated curriculum is aligned to NPS' commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) in the STEM fields. The curriculum is designed to accommodate the available resources of a diverse population and ensure meaningful learning and success from all those wanting to participate. Additionally, the use of NPS students as mentors for the participating teams creates a mutual social exchange that allows for tailored support to facilitate deeper understanding of the challenges addressed through each curricula and introduce high school students to different opportunities within the naval service.
Automation to Address Climate Change Challenges
NPS is excited to announce the Rapid Innovation Design Challenge for 2023, focusing on how workflow process automation can address local community climate change challenges. Schools and students are invited to envision, develop, and design innovative solutions that unleash the power of technology to solve problems in their communities. Through engagement with NPS student mentors and industry experts, student will engage in scaffolded learning activities that ask teams to consider how science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) can be used to create meaningful solutions with global impact.
The Design Challenge is open to students in grades 9-12. The curriculum instruction and solution development are designed to be accomplished over a 2.5-month period to fit you and your students' needs. Participants will create low code or no-code custom applications for their challenge solutions.
The challenge will have faculty and student teams in the local Monterey County area competing against each other for a chance to win cash prizes sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation.
If you have any questions, please contact the design team at designchallenge@nps.edu.

Design Challenge 2023 Curriculum
While completing the following modules, the 2023 Design Challenge asks teams to think about why and how climate change impacts each participant and their community while discussing how automated processes support a solution.- Introduction to an Application Engine Studio
- Local Effects of Climate Change
- Climate Change Impacts on the Department of Defense
- Creating an Application
- Pitch Your Solution
Volunteer to be a Mentor!
NPS Students, partner with local high school students and explore how an application enginge can help your team rapidly build, test, and deploy applications that can help address challenges they experience in their neighborhoods and communities.
No coding experience necessary.