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REIMAGINE Center Design-a-thon

REIMAGINE Center Design-a-thon

Client: REIMAGINE Center
Lead: Design Lab @ UC San Diego
Partner: The Basement, UC San Diego
Duration: May - July 2026
Scope: Humanity Centered Design-a-thon

 

Project Goal
In 2026 the Design Lab partnered with the REIMAGINE Center, UC San Diego's Center for Research, Education, Innovation and Transformation in Organ Donation, to tackle one of transplantation's most persistent equity gaps: the challenge facing under-resourced kidney patients who need a living donor but lack the tools, guidance, and support to find one. 

Project Problem Statement
How might we reimagine the living donor journey through a compassionate digital companion that reduces barriers, strengthens human connection, and helps more patients successfully receive living donor kidney transplants?

Project Results
Over 72 hours, 18 student teams, guided by Design Mentors, Flash Talk speakers and supported by a robust Design Lab toolkit, dove deep by surveying stakeholders, interviewing subject matter experts and real patients, synthesizing research, and developing prototypes grounded in real human need. Teams presented their solutions at a pitch event on June 1st, with the chance of winning a paid summer internship.

REIMAGINE DESIGNATHON Session  REIMAGINE DESIGNATHON Session  REIMAGINE DESIGNATHON Session

REIMAGINE DESIGNATHON Session  REIMAGINE DESIGNATHON Session  Pitch Day Session at the Design Lab 

 

In partnership with WIFIRE Lab and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Design Lab brought together multidisciplinary student teams in 2023 and 2025 to tackle the growing crisis of megafires through human-centered design sprints. Guided by practitioners and industry experts, participants reimagined wildfire prevention and resilience strategies, demonstrating the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration to address complex environmental challenges.