12,000
+
STUDENT MEMBERS
15
AFFILIATED SCHOOLS
1
COMMUNITY
What is National Design League
National Design League (NDL) is the official Designathon league. We partner with universities and student leaders to host weekend-long design competitions that inspire innovation, cultivate communities, and teach design-thinking skills to more than 12,000 students around the world. Our goal is to grow this community and inspire the next generation of designers and innovators.
What is a Designathon?
Designathons are weekend long design competitions. Participants are given a selection of real-world design challenges to choose from and they have 24-36 hours to design a solution. There are two types of Designathons - Engineering Designathons and UI/UX Designathons.
FRIDAY
Students arrive at the event (In-person or online). Design challenges are revealed. Students select a challenge to tackle, form teams, and get straight to work.
SUNDAY
Students showcase their project science-fair style. Judges select the top solutions for each challenge. Winners move on to the annual National Designathon.
SATURDAY
Students spend the next 24-36 hours designing and building their solutions. It's truly a weekend filled with design, creativity, and networking.
Why do Sponsors partner with National Design League?
Designathons are the perfect platform to network with passionate young designers, problem solvers and creative thinkers. Our partners use the event for recruitment, brand awareness, and student outreach, creating a meaningful presence in schools across Canada and the world.
Recruitment
Designathons replicate the setting of a dynamic workplace. Finding candidates at these events results in a more meaningful skill-based hiring practice.
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On-site interviews
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Access to resumes
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Better recruiting
Brand Marketing
Showcase your work culture, products, and company values to a targeted audience, some of whom might be your future employees or customers.
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Send your company representatives
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Physical and digital marketing assets
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Distribute SWAG
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Raise company profile
Student Outreach
Posing a design challenge, running workshops, and providing mentorship at a Designathon is a novel way of conducting outreach and supporting student innovation.
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Community support
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Student mentorship
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Crowd-source design challenges
How do Sponsors Partner with NDL?
There are a number of entry points across the NDL Designathon season to impact students. We are experts at creating sponsorship opportunities that position companies alongside students in authentic and meaningful ways.
Season Designathon
Get involved with all local post-secondary Designathons and the National level event, giving your company access to all upcoming designers and recent graduates.
Local Designathon
Attending a local designathon can give your company targeted access to upcoming designers and recent graduates from a specific school or region.
Organizations we have worked with
We partner with global organizations to provide innovative learning opportunities for students
Let us know how you’re looking to bring value to your firm - we couldn’t be more excited to work together.