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About The Resource
How can mental health services evolve to better support young people in today’s world?
In the Mental Health Hackathon Challenge Pack, students are challenged to explore the changing needs of young people and design innovative initiatives that improve mental health support across schools, digital spaces and communities.
Working through a real-world industry challenge, students investigate current pressures affecting youth mental health before developing practical and future-focused solutions that could make support more accessible, engaging and effective. Across three structured challenge activities, students design a school-based wellbeing program, create a digital support solution and develop a physical community space that encourages connection and support.
To help shape their ideas, students are introduced to three student personas, each representing different experiences, challenges and needs. These personas encourage empathy-driven design as students consider how different young people may access and engage with mental health support.
Throughout the pack, students engage with curated case studies, videos, statistics and examples of existing organisations and initiatives working in the mental health space. This gives students practical stimulus material while helping teachers connect innovation thinking to real-world services and social impact.
Designed for innovation programs, project based learning, and future-focused classroom experiences, this pack can be completed independently, explored collaboratively as a class, or used by teachers as the foundation for a larger term-long unit of work. Some schools choose to offer one Industry Innovator Challenge Pack to all students, while others purchase multiple packs to provide students with challenge choice across different industries.
Age Group
High School Students
Learning Time
6-8 hours of working time, depending on delivery model, research depth and pitch development.
Student Output
Students develop a youth mental health initiative and present their ideas through a 3-5 minute pitch supported by slides, wireframes, service concepts, or space designs.
Delivery Format
1 x 13 page downloadable PDF document. This can be used digitally or printed.
Curriculum Alignment
This resource features strong links with the following curriculum areas:
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What's Included
Upon purchasing this challenge pack you will receive a link to download the 13 page workbook as a digital PDF file. You can either complete the pack digitally, or print it and complete it with pen and paper.
The activities in this challenge pack include:
Challenge Introduction: Overview of the youth mental health challenge
Background Information: Mental health trends, youth statistics and industry context
Judging Criteria: Clear success criteria for student solutions
User Personas: a student profiles with different mental health needs and frustrations
Challenge 1 – A School-Based Mental Health Program: Designing support for schools, students, teachers and families
Challenge 2 – A Digital Solution For Students: Creating an app, website, or digital platform for support
Challenge 3 – A Supportive Community Space: Designing a physical environment for connection and wellbeing
Stimulus Pages: Curated videos, case studies and industry examples for each challenge
Pitch Page: Guidance for preparing a final 3–5 minute presentation
Contact Our Team
If you have any questions about this resource, would like advice on which challenge pack or teaching resource may work best for your students, or need to purchase via invoice, our team would be delighted to assist. Simply complete the form below and a member of the BOP Industries team will be in touch shortly.