Location:
7878 Diamondback Drive, Suite B
College Park, MD 20740
Entrance located behind The Hotel at The University of Maryland.
WHAT: Social Impact BuildFest 2026 @ UMD is a weekend-long event where students team up to prototype immersive tech experiences that tackle real-world challenges. With guidance from technical mentors and Social Impact Experts, you will learn how to design experiences that are thoughtful, responsible, and genuinely useful.
BuildFest is a supportive environment. It is not about being the best coder in the room. It is about curiosity, collaboration, and building something meaningful.
A panel of industry judges will award prizes to top teams. All teams will be invited to continue development of their projects as part of Immersive Media Design’s summer program, New Works Incubator and to showcase their projects as part of the campus-wide fall arts festival, NextNOW.
Full event information and FAQs can be found on the Buildfest 2026 @ UMD webpage.
Social Impact BuildFest 2026 @ UMD is presented by Arts For All, Immersive Media Design, The Do Good Institute, and MAVRIC, with support from the UMD XR Club. Buildfest @ UMD is produced by Immersive Media Design, MAVRIC, and Texas Immersive Institute with support from the Immersive Experience Alliance.
Social Impact Buildfest 2026 is a national series of events produced by Texas Immersive Institute and the Immersive Experience Alliance (IXA) at IXA member institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Maryland, College Park, University of Colorado Boulder, and Georgia State University.
Apply by March 13th for priority consideration.