Design-A-Thon
2026-2027 BTEC X BMES Design-A-Thon
General Information
We are excited to announce that BU BMES is collaborating with BTEC to create our fifth year-long Design-A-Thon 2026-2027!
Students will have the opportunity to work with a graduate student mentor and utilize BTEC resources to bring their project to life and compete for a chance to win a prize! Regardless of the outcome, this is a great opportunity to work on a long-term project, gain leadership experience, and form connections with graduate students and industry partners.
The Challenge
This competition is focused on improving health outcomes by increasing access to healthcare technologies and designing for a wide range of needs.
- Students work on a group project for two semesters for a chance to win a prize
- Work with a graduate student mentor to bring your ideas to life
- Present your final project to BTEC sponsor companies
Categories:
- Biosensors and Instrumentation
- Molecular, Cellular, & Tissue Engineering
- Digital and Predictive Medicine
The Prizes
3 first-place prizes:
$1000 for each category
$100 for each winning team graduate student
$250 student choice award
Eligibility and Registration
Teams should contain 1-5 members (undergraduate/LEAP students). At least one student per group must be in the College of Engineering.
Registration for final presentation: TBA
Final Presentation Registration Form: TBA
For Competitors
Each team will have a $250 budget for supplies that must be ordered through BTEC.
Please use the following form for supply requests: https://forms.gle/3hJVXNf3bXTMK9ii9
Please note that we cannot grant reimbursements for purchases, so please be sure to submit all requests for supplies through the form. Orders may take about 2 weeks to arrive, so please plan accordingly!
Forms
SIGN-UP!!! – Click here!
Dates
(You can still sign up past these dates!)
- Kick-Off Meeting: September 23rd, 2026 – 6:30-7:30 PM @ Location TBD
- Come learn more about Design-A-Thon, hear from previous participants, and get brainstorming with other interested students!
- Undergraduate Research Panel: October 14, 2026 – 6:30-7:30 PM
- Get introduced to research at BU, hear from students in research labs, and form teams if you haven’t already.
- Project Check-in: November 4th, 2026 – 6:30-7:30 PM @ Location TBD
- Hear from our BTEC scholars in residence and meet with your mentors.
- Project Proposal Presentations: December 5, 2026 –12:00-3:00PM @ Location TBD
- Come present your research plans for next semester!
- Meetings with Mentors – Round 2 (Development of Prototype):
- January through April
- Registration for Final Presentation: TBA
- Final Project Presentations/Banquet: TBA
**Any students who wish to join the competition past the initial ideas deadline, please email either bmes.bu@gmail.com or btec@bu.edu.
^Fall semester dates are finalized while Spring semester dates are TBD!
Mentors
See list of mentors shortly.
What are mentors?: Mentors are graduate students who specialize in specific fields in biomedical engineering and assist competitors in creating their devices.
How do you get a mentor?: Competitors can reach out to any mentor in the dropdown section that has expertise in the subject of their project. Just send them an email to ask for advice/guidance!
Safety Trainings
To use all of the BTEC, SILab, and EPIC spaces, you must have the proper safety training. These must be completed prior to Initial Project Submission
All other information can be found in this Google Drive folder: TBA