The Product Innovation Awards

Manufacturers and distributors planning to exhibit at and/or sponsor at EDspaces 2026 (Kansas City, MO - October 28-30) are invited to enter new sales-ready products that are: innovative; demonstrate rigor in design for education environments; are appropriate for the age of learner; are for specific settings and/or activities; are based on research and customer collaboration; have a level of certification; augment learning and/or space utilization; improve the social, emotional, and cognitive well-being of students, staff and community; and are sustainable and aesthetically pleasing.

Products must be market-ready (sorry, no prototypes), with an introduction date after January 2025 and deliverable by the end of the first quarter 2027.

• An elite jury of industry professionals will review and evaluate all submittals and determine which top-scoring products will advance to the "Finalist" round. Companies with product entries chosen as Finalists will be notified before the conference. They must have a representative available to “live pitch” their product to jurors at their EDspaces booth just after exhibit set-up on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, starting at 5 p.m. Jurors will select a Best in Show, 2^nd Place, and 3^rd Place winner that evening.

• All Finalists must attend the Product Innovation Awards presentation (held at the start of the EDspaces Opening Plenary Session, Wednesday, October 28tth at 9:15 a.m.), where the three winners will be revealed. Winners will be celebrated on stage and receive a physical award and a photo opportunity. Product highlight videos from the three winners will also be shown to audience members during the presentation.
• EDspaces conference attendees will receive a Product Innovation Awards brochure at registration/badge pick-up. The brochure will include ALL products entered, along with a description, product photo, company name, booth number, and website, giving participants even more exposure.  
• ALL products entered will also be included in two post-show email campaigns (to Learning By Design’s 30,000+ email subscriber list) and featured on the Learning By Design Magazine website for six months.

Upon entry, participants will receive instructions and a PowerPoint template for preparing their product presentation. Submissions will include photos, product descriptions, and responses to Q&A. We strongly encourage a video clip, up to 2 minutes in length, to be included within the presentation to help jurors understand the product's use, assembly, purpose, etc. Finalists will be asked to submit a shorter “promotional” video (up to 60 seconds) to be played during the awards presentation, if awarded Best in Show, 2^nd Place, or 3^rd Place.

For Questions, please contact Donna Hidalgo at 210-419-9017 or email donna@learningbydesignmagazine.com

Entry Fee Rates: $750/First Entry: $650 each additional entry 
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