UCL Engineering International Summer Design Challenge

Guided by expert academics, you’ll tackle real‑world global challenges using a project‑based approach inspired by the UCL How to Change the World initiative. Your learning will take place at UCL East.

Over the course of four days, through hands‑on design activities, you’ll explore how engineering thinking connects disciplines to create well‑rounded, responsible and imaginative outcomes. Develop your ability to design thoughtfully, work creatively, and contribute to solutions that balance technical innovation with real‑world relevance — all within the dynamic and collaborative environment that defines engineering at University College London.

Key information

Dates

10-14 August, 2026

Location

UCL East, Stratford, London E20 2AE

Cost

£1,300 including accommodation, breakfast and lunch.

Why participate in the Summer Design Challenge?

This will be a highly interactive event, featuring a blend of specialist workshops, lectures and seminars led by academics with diverse expertise. Throughout the Summer Design Challenge, participants will build core technical and professional skills while working collaboratively to address real-world engineering challenges.

A key feature of this event is its project-based approach, which equips emerging engineers with the creativity, systems thinking, and problem-solving mindsets needed to tackle complex 21st-century issues. Through experiential learning, participants will engage with themes such as sustainability, global equity and responsible innovation. 

Participants will work in multidisciplinary teams, mirroring real engineering practice, and learn to communicate effectively, think critically, and design practical interventions informed by stakeholder needs. 

By the end of the programme, students will have gained both a broader understanding of engineering’s diverse fields and hands‑on experience in developing creative responses to global challenges. The programme aims to inspire participants, strengthen their engineering identity, and prepare them to contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Entry requirements

Applicants should be on a current undergraduate programme, with an interest in further study within engineering.

Accommodation

You’ll be staying at UCL’s student accommodation in One Pool Street at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the vibrant east London, at the height of London’s summer, with other summer school participants.

• Rooms are single, ensuite, and self-catered, with a communal kitchen shared between just a few students. The building provides laundry facilities. For more information about amenities, read the UCL Accommodation Webpage.
• Your accommodation is a few minutes on foot from where you’ll learn, and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a large, green, well-lit site popular with runners and cyclists.
• You’re just a short walk from sports facilities, Westfield Stratford City shopping centre and leisure area, and the popular Hackney Wick area with plenty of bars, restaurants and cafés.
• Close to Stratford International, Stratford underground, and Pudding Mill Lane train stations, you’re well-connected to other parts of London and the UK.

Visa requirements

Depending on your country of origin, you’ll need either a Standard Visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Agreement (ETA) before you travel to the UK. We’ll provide you with an acceptance letter, which you’ll need for the application process. ATAS is not required.

The earliest you can apply for a Standard Visitor visa is three months in advance of your travel date. As part of your application you will need to make an appointment at a visa application centre; the processing time for your visa from the point you have your appointment is usually about one month. Read UCL’s visa and ETA advice for further guidance.

Postgraduate study at UCL

At UCL Engineering, we offer interdisciplinary and specialist postgraduate degrees with a huge range of applications, from life sciences and healthcare to infrastructure, policy and transport.