Applications are open for Wege Prize 2026, the international design competition where top teams win a prize for their sustainable, circular approaches to solving some of today’s problems in pollution, hunger, waste and more. Organized by the Wege Center for Sustainable Design at Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), the competition ignites solutions for the future by inspiring college and university students worldwide to collaborate in teams across institutional, disciplinary and cultural boundaries to redesign products and systems for a more circular economy.
During the nine-month process, teams compete to advance through Wege Prize 2026’s four phases, growing their ideas from informal proposals into real-world solutions informed by research, market analysis, prototyping and testing.
Submission Requirements
- Phase 1: Proposal
- Phase 2: Project overview first draft
- Phase 3: Project overview second draft
- Phase 4: Project overview and final presentation materials
Eligibility
- Have exactly five (5) members (no more, no less)
- Represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines (in terms of each participant’s current program of study–previously completed degree programs are not considered)
- Represent at least two (2) different institutions of higher education (colleges, universities, or separate colleges/schools within a larger university)
- Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate degree program program at a college, university, or equivalent institution of higher education anywhere in the world. (Teams can be composed of a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students)
Prizes
- 1st Place: $30,000 USD
- 2nd Place: $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place: $10,000 USD
- Finalist Award (x2): $2,500 USD
