MISSION
To build a community of capable and compassionate students who are committed to solving real-world challenges through human-centered design. We aspire to cultivate an open and nurturing environment for all communities.
ABOUT
SPARKATHON
Sparkathon is an innovative, impact-driven design thinking competition that challenges teams of 4 - 6 students to collaboratively solve some of the most pressing societal problems. As the largest student case competition of the Claremont Colleges (5Cs), Sparkathon attracts students from across California. More than just a one-day event, Sparkathon supports winning teams over a six-month period with generous funding, mentorship, and prototyping labs to implement their solutions in target communities.
Past Challenges >
DIVERSITY&
COLLABORATION
Sparkathon was founded as an alternative to narrowly-defined business case competitions. Our goal is to maximize the inclusion and collaboration of participants across diverse demographics and disciplines, ranging from environmental analysis and art history, to computer science and statistical
economics.
HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN
Sparkathon heavily emphasizes the human-centered design (HCD) process: 1) develop empathy, 2) identify problems and clarify ambiguities, 3) ideate, 4) prototype, and 5) test and implement. Participants learn to apply HCD to propose solutions with actionable timelines achievable within their available team resources and skill sets.