DBIA’s 2025 Student Competition Showcases Progressive Design-Build in Airport Expansion Challenge

The Design-Build Institute of America has officially opened registration for the 2025 National Design-Build Student Competition, offering students nationwide the opportunity to showcase their Design-Build expertise in a fast-paced, real-world challenge. This annual competition prepares future industry leaders by providing hands-on experience with Design-Build best practices.

Teams of university students will compete in two phases, beginning with a Request for Qualifications process judged at the regional level. Regional winners will then advance to Phase Two, where they will respond to a Request for Proposals and the top three judged teams will present their final submissions in front of a national judging panel at DBIA’s Design-Build Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 6.

This year’s competition expands on last year’s challenge, which focused on the initial Phase One procurement of a major airport expansion, including a new main terminal and airside expansion with an automated people mover. That project was delivered using a fixed-fee, variable scope Design-Build approach. The 2025 competition takes the next step, challenging student teams to complete the terminal by adding additional gates and concessions on each side of the new main terminal building using Progressive Design-Build.

For more information on the competition and registration details, click here.