Dates

May 18th: 9 AM to 9 PM

May 19th: 9 AM to 6 PM

Eligibility

High School students that attend in person. Details are available for those that have applied and received the RSVP.

Project and Submission Requirements

We want to see the code, what your project looks like, and a presentation demonstrating your project ideation process! In other words:

  • A github repo with your code
  • At least 1 picture of what your end result looks like
  • A pdf/ppt of your project ideation process

Prizes

First Place : $50 Amazon gift card, 1-year Wolfram Alpha One/Alpha Pro subscription

Second & Third place teams: $25 Amazon gift card, 1-year Wolfram Alpha One/Alpha Pro subscription

Most Innovative: $25 Amazon gift card, 1-year Wolfram Alpha One/Alpha Pro subscription

Best UI/UX:  $25 Amazon gift card, Sublime Merge/Text Keys, 1-year Cleanshot X subscription

Best Presentation: $50 Amazon gift card

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Best Overall (3 teams): this is the holistic / all-rounder category and all the things we’re considering in our ranking.

  • Passion for learning

    Did the team challenge themselves by learning something new? What technologies/APIs/methods did they use that they didn't know before?

  • Functionality and Execution

    Is the project functional? Were the core intentions/requirements for their project ideas satisfied? Does everything work? Are there bugs/errors?

  • User Experience

    How is the user experience? Is the interface well designed? Ease of use? Are features easily discoverable and understandable? Take note of aesthetics, layout, content, navigation and interaction.

  • Creativity and Originality

    This criteria is very open. Is the idea exciting/appealing? Is it unique? Does it take a fresh attempt to a common problem?

  • Utility and Usefulness

    Does project have high value in terms of application? Does the project help the users in some way (entertainment, efficiency, better quality of life, etc)? Is the useful? Does it address some kind of pain point? Does the user NEED it?

  • Technology and Innovation

    Is it technically impressive? Did the project tackle a technically challenging problem? Did it make appropriate use of tech stacks

Most Innovative (1 team): this is focuses more on impact and how plausible this project is to actually change the world. this is a good opportunity to lean on your “engineer side”

  • Novelty

    How new of an idea is this? Does it have any unique selling points that make it dramatically different from other solutions?

  • Impact

    How many people would this affect? How big of an effect would this project have on its intended users?

  • Plausibility

    How likely is this project to accomplish what it was meant to do? How well does it solve the problem? Success, does it work as intended?

  • Feasibility

    Is the project practical? Would it scale well in its full implementation?

Best UI/UX (1 team): humans should be at the heart of each design, how usable is your design for a human? this is a good opportunity to lean on your “design/creative side”

  • Consistency

    Demonstrates attention to detail and theming. Consistency means the whole project feels like it’s the same project.

  • Visual Hierarchy

    Demonstrates the effectiveness of a project's layout and design in guiding the user's attention to the most important elements and actions.

  • Intuitive

    Demonstrates how easily and naturally users can interact with a project or solution, without requiring additional explanations or guidance.

  • Aesthetic / Theming

    Does the thing look cool? Does it look related to space?

Best Presentation (1 team): in the real world, having a solid pitch can sell even bad investments. for those who can’t build but can talk, this is a good opportunity to lean on your “business side”

  • Clarity and organization

    Demonstrates the effectiveness of a project's communication and structure in conveying the problem statement, solution, and key insights in a clear and concise manner.

  • Process

    Demonstrates the team's ability to showcase their problem-solving skills and methodology, from ideation and prototyping to testing and iteration.

  • Shared understanding

    Each member of the project seems knowledgeable in the project in its entirety.

  • Viability

    How good of a project is this in the long run? How does it compare against existing or future competitors?