PLM Innovators Design Contest 2026

Are you a CAD student ready to show off your SOLIDWORKS design skills? Enter the PLM Innovators Design Contest and reimage an everyday product for the future, gain real-world experience, and the chance to win cool prizes.

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Reimagine the Future, One Design at a Time.

As CAD students, you are tomorrow’s creators, innovators, and problem-solvers. The future starts with your ideas.

The PLM Innovators Design Contest gives you the chance to showcase your SOLIDWORKS skills by sharing your original design with the world.

Ready to show off your SOLIDWORKS and innovation skills?

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The Challenge

Take an existing product and redesign it for the future using SOLIDWORKS.

Think of something we all know, use, or see every day. Now fast-forward. What will it look like in 10, 20, or even 50 years?

  • Will it be smarter, more sustainable, more connected, or more human-centric?
  • What materials will it use?
  • What problems will it solve?
  • How will it adapt to a changing world?

That’s for you to decide.

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How It Works

  1. Register for the contest, and then check your inbox for your confirmation.
  2. Pick your item, and create your original design in SOLIDWORKS.
  3. Submit your entry via the emailed instructions.
  4. The winner will be announced November 13th.
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The Prize

In collaboration with 3Dconnexion, the winner will receive a SpaceMouse Wireless which allows you to enables you to navigate, sculpt and design effortlessly in 3D applications.

And of course, some hand-picked PLM and SOLIDWORKS merch to mark your win.

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Here From Last Year’s Winner

I used the SpaceMouse for my final 3D modelling project at the end of my first semester: a mechanism with several gears. Being able to rotate the assembly and look at individual parts from different angles without breaking my workflow made inspecting the design much faster than doing it with a regular mouse.

But the bigger thing the contest gave me was the confidence to try things I had never done before. Since then I’ve ended up in places I would never have expected: I now work part-time at my university’s HPC Centre. If you’re a student wondering whether you’re ready to enter: that’s exactly the reason to enter.

-Vladislavs Lazdans, Riga Technical University Student

Read about Vladislav’s winning project

The Judges

Our PLM Group experts will judge designs based on the following criteria:

  • Technical Skill in SOLIDWORKS
  • Design & Creativity
  • Design Explanation
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Martin Johansson
Early Engagement Team Leader

Alex K. Aaskilde
Application Engineer & Technical Specialist

Christoffer Stokkebro Sørensen
Customer Success & Elite Application Engineer

Practical Information:

  • Deadline to Enter: October 30th
  • Winner Announced: November 13th
  • Files Accepted: SOLIDWORKS Pack & Go (instructions are provided) and file type of your choice

Contest is open to students who are 18+ of schools with SOLIDWORKS or 3DEXPERIENCE licenses from PLM Group.

All submitted designs must be the original work of the student.