The Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM are meant to get students engaged in messy problems that they care about. One of the ways we do this is through district-wide competitions and virtual pitch competitions. Learn more about each of these types of events below. If you are interested in getting a district-wide competition started in your area, reach out to us at design_pitch@ncsu.edu!

District-Wide Competitions

Wake County Competition

Calling all entrepreneurial student minds in WCPSS!!! Our second annual Design & Pitch Challenges in STEM Competition has been set for April 12, 2025. (note: date was changed from original date to allow for spring break at schools on early college schedules, apologies for any confusion that may cause) We can’t wait to see all of your fabulous ideas, we were blown away last year!

We are asking all teachers to register their teams by February 15th. If you are completing your challenge after this date then please put “to be determined” in the space that asks for student names.

Click here to get the flier (see below) and clickable links. Then, click here to get the road map (see below) with clickable links.

 

 

 

And the winners are....

Year1st Place2nd Place3rd PlaceFinalists
2024 HSGeoRoute
Wake STEM Early College
UCleanUV
North Wake Career and College Academy
FundFinder
Athens Drive Magnet High School
Cube Corps
Wake STEM Early College

EcoChic
Athens Drive Magnet High School
2024 MSPowerUp
Reedy Creek Middle School
HePro
Apex Friendship Middle School
RenewaBAM
Apex Friendship Middle School
Viral Vision
Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy
This table shows the winners from our annual WCPSS district-wide competition. The competition is divided into two subsets: high school (HS) and middle school (MS).

Virtual Pitch Competitions

While we enjoy working with students in person, we love to interact with students from across the globe. As such, we occasionally offer virtual pitch competitions, which bring the thrill of the Design & Pitch Challenges to any computer in the world. Check back often to see when our next virtual pitch competition is scheduled, or email us at design_pitch@ncsu.edu to set one up!