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DESIGN CHALLENGE & STUDENTS THAT CONNECT SYMPOSIUM
 

STC's Design and Workplace Challenges bring together teams of students to engage in design thinking challenges to solve local community problems. ​In 2025, STC built on the success of Design Challenges to launch our first-ever Student Symposium: Exploring AI, where students from schools across New York City came together for a day of discussion, debate, and design challenges. ​

Inside the Students That Connect Symposium

In fall 2025, Schools That Can was joined by over 70 students from 7 schools across New York City for the first-ever Students That Connect Symposium: Exploring AI hosted at SUNY Global Center. Over the course of the day, students...
 

  • Heard from keynote speaker Neha Shukla, a young AI ethicist, inventor, social entrepreneur, and author

  • Engaged in a rapid-fire debate, using skills like research, time management, and collaboration

  • Worked with Playlab AI for a hands-on design challenge, creating apps that solved community challenges

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Each year, the STC Student Symposium will focus on a pressing issue facing young people and the workforce. These events focus on in-person networking across schools, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills, and doing a deep dive into preparing for the future of work. Interested in joining for the 2026 Students That Connect Symposium? Click here to email STC.

85% of students said they had the opportunity to practice collaboration skills. 79% of students said they had the opportunity to practice research skills.

Feedback on the 2025 STC Symposium

Inside STC Design Challenge

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STC's Design and Workplace Challenges bring together teams of students to engage in design thinking challenges to solve local community problems.  ​

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  • Businesses or nonprofits in each city serve as the client for the challenge and support local teams, including by providing professionals to mentor student teams.

  • Students practice collaboration, professional communication and presentation, and networking skills while enjoying hands-on opportunities to learn about issues and solutions facing their schools, communities, and different fields of work.​

  • Previous Design Challenge partners include the Obama Foundation, the Newark Alliance, Grow with Google, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Newark Symphony Hall, Tree Pittsburgh, the Obama Foundation, Chicago Architecture Center, and Panasonic.

“From the feedback that I got from the students, [The Design Day Challenge] was an invaluable experience to see how the stuff they learn in the classroom connects to something in real life.”

Andrew B., Newark Boys Chorus School

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