Since 2003, the ULI Hines Student Competition has challenged students to collaborate across disciplines and imagine a better built environment. Groups of five students form teams to devise a development program for a real site in a North American city, providing designs, market-based financial data, and related narratives.
This is an ideas competition; there is no expectation that any of the submitted schemes will be applied to the site. The winning team receives $50,000 and the finalist teams receive $10,000 each. One representative from each finalist team gets an all-expenses-paid site tour in the selected competition city prior to the final presentation. All participating finalist students attend the all-expenses-paid final presentation in the host city to select the winner of the competition.
In 2018, Toronto hosted the competition, with a challenge to develop a comprehensive development in an area near the mouth of the Don River.
The 2018 finalist development schemes and teams were:
- “Montage” from Cornell University
- “Absorption” from the Georgia Institute of Technology
- “The EArl” from the Georgia Institute of Technology
- “Point Passage” from the University of Maryland
Catching Up with Hines Alumni
More than 7,400 students have participated in the ULI Hines Student Competition since its first year in 2003. Below, Hines finalists and winners share stories about their competition experience and its impact on their professional lives.
Past Competitors
ULI Hines Competition: A Turning Point for Rameez Munawar
Exploring the impact of the ULI Hines Competition. A look at Rameez Munawar, winner 2014.
Catching Up with 2005 Hines Competition Winner Thomas Magloczki
2005 Hines Competition winner Thomas Magloczki discusses his experience and its impact on his professional life.
Catching Up with 2006 Hines Competition Winner Thomas Hussey
Thomas Hussey, associate director at SOM Chicago, talks about his experience on the Harvard team that won the…
Catching Up with 2003 Hines Competition Finalist Johnny Lu
Johnny Lu, principal at TAG Design Works, and his teammates from the University of Southern California were finalists…
