Design Sprints!
An Innovation Hub Design Sprint is an enriching educational experience for all involved! Some are calling it the future of higher education.
The Innovation Hub has unlocked and perfected one of the 21st century’s most powerful tools for education, connection, and impact: The Design Sprint!
The Design Sprint is an activity and competition in which small interdisciplinary teams work to solve a given problem and pitch their solutions for prizes and awards. It utilizes the stages of the Design Thinking process (Empathize, Ideate, Build) and can be delivered over an intensive 24-hour period or in a multi-day format. Online or in person.
Design Sprints can address a wide range of human-centric problems from reducing the instances of human trafficking, to designing smart homes for aging in place, to interpreting drone photos and estimating the cost of building damage. Design Sprints that are technical in nature and require computer programming are referred to as Hackathons. Most Design Sprints at the Innovation Hub are interdisciplinary and require no programming knowledge at all.
Key elements to a successful Design Sprint:
A sponsoring entity be it a business, organization or academic unit
50 - 60 participants to be divided into ten interdisciplinary teams
Content area experts to inform and support the teams around the given topic
Stakeholders with which to empathize
Meals and t-shirts for all participants and prizes for the winning team(s)
The Innovation Hub provides facilitation, space, staffing, and logistical planning.
Key Benefits of participating in a Design Sprint:
Build interdisciplinary problem-solving skills
Grow in creative confidence and emotional intelligence
Develop an awareness and empathy for people facing challenges
Learn innovation methodologies Design Thinking and Systems Thinking
Solve real world problems and have a positive impact on the world
Make friends and develop your professional network
Gain access to exciting career opportunities
View these videos from two of our past Design Sprints to witness the impact in the areas of Social Work and Nursing. View our past Design Sprints below the videos.
Past Design Sprints
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24-Hour Design Sprint: The Future is NOW!
March 27 - 28, 2026
A Design Sprint for MBA StudentsGiven that most organizations are deploying AI before they have the governance, the workforce readiness, or the cultural foundation to support it — leaving employees at every level unprepared, unprotected, and uncertain about their role in an AI-enabled workplace...
How Might We help organizational leaders design a workplace culture where people and AI work together as true partners — so that every employee, regardless of where they are in their career, feels valued, capable, and essential to the business
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Create-athon 2026
February 27-28, 2026
Part of FSU Festival of Creative ArtsHalf the student participants major in creative arts and humanities.
How might we create an Interactive Experience that contributes to a long-term sense of community and connection in Tallahassee?
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Hack the Job Market
February 25-26, 2026
Partners: AWS, FSU Career CenterGiven the complexity of connecting FSU students with valuable internships,
How might we leverage AI technologies to develop a system that connects students with ideal internships in a convenient manner for both students and businesses so that both can experience the maximum benefits of internships.
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12-Hour Design Sprint: Sukkah Design Sprint
September 28, 2025
Partners: Hillel, FSU Department of Interior Architecture and DesignHow might we inspire our campus community to be open to all cultures, while gaining insight about Judaism through the design of a sukkah structure, so that all students might feel safe and welcome.
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24-Hour Hackathon: Next 100
October 24-25
Partners: NextEra Energy, FSU Career CenterAs we consider growing threats to our power infrastructure: How might we help NextEra Energy leverage game-changing technologies, AI, breakthrough data insights and revolutionary processes to deliver solutions that can transform how we prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies today and in the future.
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Rapid Relocation
January 31 - February 1
Partners: FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Florida Division of Emergency ManagementWith coastal communities facing escalating threats from hurricanes and flooding, how might we promote better and more complete evacuation of individuals living near Florida's coasts?
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Hack Disaster - The International Hackathon to Rebuild Cities
November 12 - 16, 2024
Partners: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU), FSU Ukraine Task ForceGiven that both Ukraine and Florida are both experiencing catastrophic damage to cities from war and hurricanes respectively, how might we assess building damage and estimate the cost of reconstruction working remotely using advanced technologies?
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Hacking the Energy-verse
October 25 - 26, 2024
Partners: NextEra Energy, FSU Career CenterHow might we provide homeowners with methods, tools, and motivation to reduce energy consumption in their homes, to reduce FL overall energy consumption by 10 percent?
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Human Trafficking
January 26-27, 2024
Partners: FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights (CAHR)Given that there are between 20 million and 40 million people in modern slavery today, how might we raise awareness of the problem, call attention to victims, and place pressure on offenders to reduce the incidents of human trafficking?
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Smart Home Design for Aging in Place
April 14 - 15 2023
Partners: FSU College of NursingGiven that many people spend the final years of their lives in senior care facilities or hospitals, how might we design a home environment that evolves with the needs of aging individuals to provide the care and comfort they need to spend their latter years happy and healthy at home.
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24-Hour Design Sprint: Guardians of the Grid
September 15 - 16, 2023
Partners: NextEra Energy, FSU Career CenterHow might we leverage technology to understand the state of the Power Utility Grid and help get ahead of Customer Outages and Customer Complaints proactively?
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4-Hour Ideation Sprint: The Future of Child Welfare
September 19, 2019
Partners: FSU College of Social Work, Florida Department of Children and Families, IBMHow might we create a better work experience for child welfare social workers?