The University of Toronto Space Design Contest (UTSDC) is an annual contest for high school students that presents a challenging space-related problem to teams of up to five students and tasks them to design an innovative solution. Throughout the year, teams document their solution process, culminating in a short report and the opportunity to present it at the Design Conference in May. In February, contestants attend a Space Workshop where they receive feedback on their current designs from distinguished U of T professors and engineers from Canadian aerospace companies. This internationally-recognized contest brings together students from across Canada and the United States and even from countries as far away as India.

UTSDC is completely student-run and independent, attracting both undergraduate and graduate students from the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering to take on leadership roles as the contest's executive members. It is affiliated with the internationally recognized University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and frequently collaborates with North American aerospace companies and government agencies. These organizations present the students with opportunities to learn from professionals in the engineering industry by providing both contest judges and inspiring speakers. For instance, speakers of past conferences include Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and the developer of Canada's first privately-owned space exploration firm, Brian Feeney.

UTSDC seeks to provide superior educational programming in science and engineering for secondary school students. We strive to present students with unique opportunities that they would not otherwise encounter in their regular curriculum. By providing students with a space-related contest challenge, we also aim to promote the benefits of space exploration and development.