Dates

March 22 to 23

Eligibility

Must attend a Canadian High School or be a first year student at an accredited Canadian Post-Secondary Institution in your first undergrad.

Project and Submission Requirements

All projects must be made during official start and end time. Open source tools are permitted, however their use must be explicitly stated in the project writeup/readme. A GitHub repo link must be provided as part of the submission to confirm adherence to the submission rules. Also, a YouTube video link must be provided for your submission. AI tools are allowed, however, their use must be explicitly stated in your Readme. 

Hardware Policy

Any non-commercially available or custom-modified hardware is not permitted. All hardware must be approved on a case-by-case basis. Reach out to zaid.ahmed@ucalgary.ca to askif your hardware is allowed. 
As a general rule, hardware like commercially available Arduinos and Raspberry Pis are permitted. Phones and smart watches are also allowed. VR and EEG headsets may also be approved on a case-by-case basis. 

Prizes

1st Place: $1500

2nd Place: $750

3rd Place: $500

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

  1. Innovation & Creativity (10 points)

  • Is the idea unique or an interesting take on an existing problem?

  • Does it introduce a new perspective or approach?

  • Functionality (5 points)

  • Does the project work as intended?

  • Even if incomplete, does it demonstrate a clear and working prototype?

  • Technical Complexity (5 points)

  • Is the project technically complex?

  • Does the project process, store, or analyze data?

  • Does it interact with multiple systems, platforms, or external tools?

  • Impact & Relevance (10 points)

  • Does the solution address a real problem?

  • How meaningful is the project’s potential impact?

  • Presentation & Clarity (5 points)

  • Was the team able to clearly explain their project?

  • Did they effectively communicate what the project does and why it matters?

  • Writeup (5 points)

  • Does the writeup cover the following criteria?

  1. Innovation/Inspiration

  2. Vision

  3. Challenges faced

  4. What you got done

  5. AI Use

  6. Future directions

  • Is it well-written?

  • Feasibility (5 points)

  • Is the project realistic?

  • Could someone actually develop this, if it hasn’t been fully developed already?