RSA Spark submissions for 2025 are now closed. Thank you to all students who took part.
We will be celebrating the best ideas for each brief at the RSA Spark Showcase, which opens on 23 September 2025.
Please note that we will not be launching new RSA Spark briefs for 2025-26.
We have kept our 2024-25 briefs and recorded learning workshops available on this page for educators to download and use freely in their teaching, but we will not be accepting idea submissions over the coming year.
Read our blog to find out more about what we’ve learned and why we decided to pause RSA Spark.
Blog
Read our reflections on the design-led approach we took with RSA Spark, what we’ve learned along the way, and why we’ve decided to take a moment to pause before we go further.
If you have any questions, please contact rsaspark@rsa.org.uk.
Built on the solid foundations of 100 years of the Student Design Awards, RSA Spark has been designed to achieve even greater impact.
RSA Spark welcomes students from around the globe to develop and apply their agency, skills, and creativity to real-world briefs that do more good for people, places, and the planet.
RSA Spark is free to enter and open to currently enrolled and recently graduated students aged 18 and above from all disciplines, regardless of their location worldwide.
At RSA Spark, we believe great ideas come from diverse perspectives. We especially encourage students from the global majority, those who need financial assistance for education, those with disabilities, and first-generation university students to participate.
We can offer tailored adjustments to ensure everyone can fully participate. This might include alternative submission formats or additional guidance, for example. If you or your students need adjustments, let us know by contacting rsaspark@rsa.org.uk. We’re here to support you.
Working individually or in teams, students are invited to apply their creativity to shape and test the best possible idea in response to a brief.
When you're hearing things on the news to do with climate change its always something that you can just turn off and move on with your day but, RSA Spark really made me stop and think about how I can do my bit to help the environment, and it gave me a better understanding of how, as an individual, I can help.
In 2024/25, students had the opportunity to respond to four exciting briefs. These were:
Students taking part benefitted from feedback from our expert panel, digital badges to evidence their participation, and the chance to be shortlisted for our annual showcase event and the RSA Spark Entrepreneurs programme.
Our briefs have been designed to challenge and inspire students to connect creative learning with future career purpose. Through participating in RSA Spark, students had the opportunity to develop 10 capabilities for life that are essential for innovating in ways that positively impact people, places, and the planet.
Each brief was designed as a five-stage creative process, and so we’ve provided five online learning workshops for each stage to guide the development of submissions.
You can playback our interactive workshops if you want to strengthen your or your students’ skills in these areas.
To celebrate the best of the submissions this academic year, we shortlisted up to 10 ideas for each brief and have invited the individuals or teams behind the ideas to take part in our exclusive showcase event in September 2025.
The showcase will be live at RSA House for a month, as well as online for a year.
In addition, the £500 Anjool Malde Innovator Prize will be given to the entry that best demonstrates an outstanding idea with market potential from a UK entrant/student.
Finally, eight standout participants with enterprising ideas will have the opportunity to secure a place and seed funding on our new RSA Spark entrepreneurs’ programme.
This award includes a £1,000 seed grant from Chacegrove Family Foundation, direct mentorship from a seasoned entrepreneur, an Innovator Digital Badge, and a one-year RSA Fellowship.
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