The Interprofessional Design-a-thon at the Inpatient Rehabilitation Center brings together student teams to apply human-centered design thinking to address patient needs. Student teams collaborate on a solution and present their idea to a panel of faculty and health professionals, who then select a winning team. This is an approved IPEP Distinguished Scholars Immersion hosted by the Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice.

Fall 2026 Design-a-thon:

Saturday, October 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, October 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Design-a-thon Eligibility:

• Complete basic BEAM Makerspace training.
• Be available all 5 hours on each Saturday (10 hours total) and complete independent work (research, faculty consultation, etc.) in the week between.
• Designed for medical, nursing, biomedical engineering, physical therapy, clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling, occupational therapy, speech therapy and pharmacy students. Other students can apply, and their participation will be considered as space allows.​

Applications are reviewed as received and the deadline to apply is September 1, 2026. Questions? Email unc_ipe@unc.edu.