2026 Mental Health Xperience Competition

Improving the mental well-being in college students nationwide.

Overview

Despite the availability of numerous mental wellness apps, support groups, and professional services, 77% of college students still report struggling with their mental health. Even more concerning, fewer than half engage with the available resources, and some tools have engagement rates as low as 0.5%.

The challenge

Participants will be tasked with developing a solution that improves student mental health on college campuses while retaining engagement. This solution can be based on the scalability of any resource—an app, a product, a service, a social initiative, or even a shared creative expression. The goal is not only to provide support but also to track engagement and outcomes to demonstrate effectiveness.

Register for Mental Health Xperience

Build your competition team to solve this problem and launch a venture with up to $2M in funding.

Want course credit?
Get 9 credits toward your degree and exclusive competition resources by applying for Xperiment.
domain
Society
Topic
Mental Health
challenge
Identify a gap in the current mental health landscape for college-age students and develop a solution that effectively addresses it.

Benefits of participation

Career development
Real-world impact
expert support and resources
Funding

Evaluation criteria

Entries will be judged on the following:
  • Innovation: The originality and creativity of the approach.
  • Effectiveness: The potential impact on student mental health.
  • Engagement & longevity: The likelihood of sustained student use over time.
  • Scalability: The feasibility of widespread implementation.
  • Market viability: The potential for sustainable growth and investment.
This competition is more than just an opportunity to develop an idea—it is a chance to reshape how mental health is supported on college campuses. Through creative problem-solving and strategic development, students have the potential to make a lasting impact on the future of student well-being.
19.9 million
college students in the U.S.1
+60%
meet criteria for ≥1 mental health condition2
<15%
seek help from university counseling services2

A growing industry

The global mental health app market is booming, with projected growth from $5.2 billion in 2023 to $13.3 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 16.63. This surge is fueled by increasing mental health awareness, smartphone adoption, and the urgent need for accessible support solutions, particularly among college students.

$13.3 B
2028
$5.2 B
2023
  1. American College Health Association. (2018). National College Health Assessment II: Spring 2018 Reference Group Data Report. Retrieved from https://www.acha.org/ncha
  2. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2024). Current Term Enrollment Estimates: Spring 2024. Retrieved from https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/
  3. Statista, Global Mental Health Market Analysis, 2023