Design the Change Competition

Bolt Burdon Kemp are proud to announce the return of our proprietary Design the Change Competition. Starting in October 2026 and finishing in May 2027, our student competition joins a global conversation about the need for improved accessibility in the world and the importance design plays in making this happen.

Why accessible design matters

According to research carried out by the Spinal Injuries Association, it is estimated that more than 105,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury in the UK. Every two hours, through an accident or illness, a person’s life is changed when they sustain a spinal cord injury. Adults, children, men, women: injury does not discriminate.

A spinal cord injury is a life-changing event that makes even the simplest of tasks time-consuming and a challenge. Yet despite the increasing number of people living with a spinal cord injury in the UK, not enough is being done to make the world in which we live accessible to all. In recent years, a spotlight has been shone on the transport industry, with rail companies and airlines repeatedly failing to look after the needs of their disabled passengers. With stories of people being trapped on aeroplanes, abandoned on platforms, and having their wheelchairs damaged. Just walk down your local high street and imagine being in a wheelchair or having limited mobility – how many shops could you access? Even if you can get inside, can you move about? Alternatively, consider your kitchen and how easy it would be to navigate making a cup of tea if your hands had limited mobility. The examples really are endless; we are not living in an accessible society, but that can change, and that is where we think that students can make a difference.

The competition brief

Once again, our spinal injury team invites students from universities across the UK to think creatively, innovatively and empathetically to invent a product aimed at improving the lives of people with a spinal cord injury.

Whether it’s something simple – like a newer, easier way of accomplishing an everyday task – or something complex – like completely reimagining a common household appliance – we’re looking for unique, practical ideas that truly consider the needs of people with this injury.

We’d like all entries to show three key steps:

The problem that you’re looking to solve
The journey you went on to solve the problem, including your research and development process
The final design, including the name of your invention, a description of how it works, and how you believe it will help those with a spinal cord injury

As you begin to investigate this field of design, you’ll no doubt discover that research in spinal cord injury rehabilitation often intersects the medical and physiotherapy worlds as well as the design and manufacturing worlds. This means, when we ask ourselves how design can better help people with spinal injuries, we’ll need to keep several factors in mind:

The person’s medical needs
The person’s physical ability
The possibilities and limitations of design
The possibilities, limitations and availability of raw materials

Your final concept should reflect all of these considerations.

Prizes

The winning entry receives £5,000, with the runner-up receiving £2,500.

How to enter

Email competition@bbkllp.co.uk with your entry.

Your entry must detail the key steps outlined in the brief and must be submitted as follows:

A clear and concise combination of words and images delivered as an A4 PDF document, including early sketches, photographs and CAD renderings where created, limited to no more than five pages.

In your entry email, please include your full name, the course you are studying, which year you are in, what university you attend and your mobile number.

For the full details on how to enter, please see our PDF briefing pack below.

Who can enter?

This competition is open to individual students as well as teams of up to four students.

Students can be either undergraduates or postgraduates, from any higher education institution, college or university in the UK. If submitting a team entry, all members of the team should attend the same university, but do not need to be reading the same subject.

Key dates

14^th October 2026: Competition opens
4^th May 2027: Competition closes

Judging criteria

All entries will be judged by our panel of experts. We’ll look at whether entries:

Are original
Have considered the needs of people with a spinal cord injury
Solve a practical, day-to-day problem for people with spinal cord injury
Demonstrate commercial awareness and are viable

Research and insight

To explore the challenges faced by people with spinal cord injuries, the links below offer a helpful place to start.

In 2024 we hosted a Q&A session about the Design the Change Competition. This session includes helpful information and tips. We were joined by Ella Beaumont and Bob O’Shea, who spoke about their experience as individuals with spinal cord injuries:

Design the change in the Press

The Star (Sheffield) – Sheffield Hallam product design students win prestigious industry awards

Solicitors Journal – Ergonomic mouse wins accessible design competition

THIIS – Accessible computer mouse wins Bolt Burdon Kemp’s Design the Change competition

ATT Today – Adaptable computer mouse for people with spinal cord injuries wins accessible design competition

Livingwithdisability – Design the Change Competition Q&A

Sheffield Hallam University – Sheffield Hallam product design students win prestigious industry awards

Terms and Conditions

Entrants must be students, either undergraduates or postgraduates, from any higher education institution, college or university in the United Kingdom
Only one entry per person or per team will be considered
If the entry is submitted by a team, all members of the team (four people maximum) should attend the same university but do not need to be reading the same subject
The entry must be the student’s/team’s own work
Late submissions or submissions that do not meet the required submission format will not be considered
Bolt Burdon Kemp claims no intellectual property rights (these remain with the entrant/entrants). However, we reserve the right to retain designs to display on the Bolt Burdon Kemp website and for use in relevant PR/promotional material. Entrants should be aware that by displaying the design publicly it would most likely void any claim to ownership of the intellectual property and therefore they should seek to cover themselves should they so wish.
Winner(s) will be required to agree to the use of their name and photograph in promotional activity related to the competition and will co-operate with any other reasonable requests by Bolt Burdon Kemp relating to any competition publicity
Winner(s) will be notified by email. Return of this email as undeliverable or failure to reply within 7 days may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner(s)
Prizes are non-transferable