The challenge is on.
Innovation Competitions keep things lively around the School of Engineering! Each quarter, student teams put their entrepreneurial mindsets and creative problem-solving skills to the test vying for cash prizes. Contests involve local industrial partners (BMW, Intel, nVIDIA, NASA, to name a few), alumni, and a talented group of innovators and entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley.
2026 Maker Product Design Challenge
Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the CrossFit Games
$5,000 Grand Prize!
Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to form a student team and design, make and sell a physical commemorate item to celebrate the 20th anniversary milestone of the CrossFit Games. This challenge requires design teams to conceive, pitch, produce and sell 25 units of their product. The competition has two phases. All teams will submit a Phase A design proposal. The top three teams will be selected to move to Phase B, which consists of production and sales. The grand prize is $5,000. In addition, after the competition, one or more contracts to produce several hundred items for use by CrossFit may be awarded. If you are looking for a teammate, please contact Anne Mahacek Hunter.
Full Competition Details: 2026 Maker Product Design Challege- CrossFit
All participants will need to sign an IP License and Liability Waiver, provided after registering.
CrossFit branding guidelines will be provided after registering.
Announcements & Updates: Teams should consult this page routinely for news, updates and advice regarding the competition.
Maker Product Design Challenge Kickoff Slide Deck
Key Dates:
Feb 24: Full competition details released and teams can begin registering
Mar 9: Competition deadline at 11:59 pm; complete the registration form. You will need to enter your team roster (full names, student ID numbers, years, majors), provide a product/team name, and identify a single team member as the competition point of contact.
Mar 23: Phase A submission packages due no later than 11:59 pm
Apr 1: Top teams selected for Phase B are notified and may begin Phase B work
May 1: 25 units provided by noon, and bookstore sales begin
May 11: Bookstore sales end
May 15: Phase B submission package due no later than 11:50 pm
Week of May 25: Award announcement
If there are any changes to the dates, we will notify the team leads.
Winning team from the 2024 Design Make Sell Competition
The top three teams in the Big Bash Maker Challenge - a phone stand, virtual reality goggles, and a toy ladder - made their items in the Maker Lab to put on sale in the campus bookstore.
Knightscope Honorable Mention team poses with their mock-up robot
Knightscope Autonomous Machine Entrepreneurial Mindset Challenge teams created a two-minute storyboard video of their idea for application of multiple K5 robots.
Students from the Santa Clara Innovation & Design club won the Big Bash Maker Challenge where they designed SCU spirit items, manufactured them in the Maker Lab, and sold them in the campus bookstore.
Participants from the Fall 2018 Podium Sports Technology Challenge
2019 Maker Challenge Winners- Designed and made 20 spirit items in the Maker Lab that were then sold in the campus bookstore.
Three winning products of past Maker Product Design Challenges.