2026 SCAG Student Showcase Now Open; Submissions Due March 12
The 2026 SCAG Student Showcase is now open.
The SCAG Student Showcase challenges students to create posters and StoryMaps that illustrate the possibilities of open data to tell compelling stories, provide insights, and showcase plans and projects. Competition finalists receive unparalleled opportunities to demonstrate their expertise to a large, influential network of skilled practitioners and future colleagues. Winners receive cash prizes.
2026 Student Showcase finalists will receive complimentary event registration, hotel accommodation, and admission to SCAG’s 2026 Regional Conference and General Assembly in Palm Desert on May 7-8. At the conference, participants will present their posters and StoryMaps to elected officials and industry leaders from across Southern California. Over 900 attendees are expected at the event.
A panel of judges will select one poster and one StoryMap for the “Best in Show” award. During the conference, attendees will also vote for a poster and StoryMap to be recognized with an “Audience Award.” All four awards, each worth $1,500, will be announced at the end of the conference.
In 2025, Princeton Brooke from the University of Southern California and Ada Liang from the University of California, Irvine, were awarded in the Audience Award category, and Laura Messier from the University of Southern California and Manasi Vartak from UCLA, were awarded in the Jury Award category.
In the StoryMaps category, Vartak’s winning submission proposed a green infrastructure program to address food insecurity in Los Angeles County. Liang’s winning submission analyzed the causes of the urban heat island effect in Los Angeles County and proposed solutions. In the poster category, Messier’s winning submission presented findings from an analysis of sidewalk maintenance programs in 30 U.S. cities. Brooke’s winning submission proposed a research program to engineer cyber-physical resilience architecture with low to zero reliance on existing telecommunication systems.
Submissions for the 2026 SCAG Student Showcase are due March 12 at 10 a.m. Submit a project online or visit the SCAG Student Showcase website for more information.