Teams
FAQ's
Q: Are the judges provided the copies of the commercialization plans before the presentations or are they given copies during the presentation, so as to complement the actual presentation?
A: Judges are provided a briefing package in advance as well as hard copies during the competition.
Q: Will the feedback be given by the same panel of judges for the competition the next day? Will it be like a rehearsal for the competition?
A: The panel of judges will change each day so that there is no bias carried forward as teams progress in the competition. The feedback rounds is an opportunity to “practice” and gather feedback from experts in the field for polishing your presentation for the semi-finals
Q: I am an graduate student attending “x” university outside of the US and I am interested putting together a team for the competition. I heard that ORNL can help subsidize the travel expenses. I was wondering if this is true and if so how can I apply for this subsidy.
A: The teams are selected for the competition based on the one-page application which is due January 18, 2010. Travel sponsorships is provided for all teams selected to participate in the semi-final rounds of Global Venture Challenge 2010. Sponsorship levels are based solely upon distance traveled from the university to Oak Ridge, Tennessee by the team members. For international teams, such as yourself, your team (if selected for the semi-finals) would receive $4,000 to be divided between members to cover travel costs to the event.
Q: I am a applied mechanics PhD student at “x” University. 1- How can I take part in your competition? 2- How does your competition work? 3- Can I participate alone or should I form a team?, if a team, with how many members?
A: 1- Teams submit a one-page application no later than January 18, 2010. An expert panel reviews all applications segmented by track and selects 12 teams to participate in the on-site competition. Teams are notified of their status on February, 1, 2010. 2- Teams selected for the semi-final rounds of the competition then prepare a 5-page technology commercialization plan due March 8, 2010. This information is provided to the judges during the competition and will assist them in understanding your product and the market opportunity. Teams come to Oak Ridge to participate in the competition held March 24-26, 2010. 3-Teams typically consist of 2-4 student members with one or more faculty advisors.
Q: Do technologies need to be “invented” by students? In other words are there any guidelines regarding the ownership of the intellectual property? Also, do ideas or technologies need to have intellectual protection in place?
A: We ask only that students have access to the technology either by invention, a license agreement or some other agreement. It would be great to see students form a team around the university’s IP. For teams who are searching for a technology, we have included a link to ORNL’s IP on the GVC website. IP protection is among the three factors considered for market entry in the judging criteria for scoring the applications.
Q: Are there two $25,000 prizes, one for each track?
A: Yes. Cash prizes are awarded for each track.
Q: Can I submit two different ideas with two separate teams? Should we get professor approval before primary submission at Jan. 18th?
A: Yes, you may submit two applications with two different teams. However, should more than one application be selected for the competition, you will be required to choose to compete only on one team as you progress in the competition. Each application should include documentation (by letter of support) from faculty advisor to validate the concept and approach.
Q: In previous years, undergraduate students were allowed to participate. I did not see a mention of anything but graduate students on the website for this year. Has your policy changed? Are undergrads no longer allowed to compete?
A: Yes, teams may include undergraduate students; however, the undergraduate students should not comprise more than 50% of the team. Teams typically consist of 2-4 student members with one or more faculty advisors.
Q: Are there any conditions such as royalties or performance requirements placed on the prize money?
A: No, there are no conditions or requirements associated with the competition prizes. It is considered a monetary award.
Q: As the advisor of the team, am I allowed to address questions from the audience?
A: The students are required to answer questions from the judges following their presentations. Advisors may observe the discussion, but not participate.
Q: Are the other teams allowed to audit in the non-score presentation on Wednesday?
A: Teams will be presenting only to the judges one-on-one during the feedback rounds. However, teams may choose to observe others during the semi-finals and finals when they are not presenting.
Q: Are we allowed to give handouts of the presentation to the judges? If yes, how many judges will be there?
A: A panel of five judges will lead each track and will be provided a copy of the 5-page commercialization plan. We do not preclude copies of the visual presentation materials to the judges; however, resources will not be available to print material on-site and we therefore do not recommend it.
Q: In the Competitive Advantage section, the question 'Are barriers to entry clearly defined?'. We would like a little more clear interpretation of 'barriers to entry': does it mean the hurdles for us to enter the market, or the barriers for possible competitors to enter the market, i.e., the advantages we have over our competitors?
A: It can be either of these. Generally, it is taken to mean the latter – meaning barriers for possible competitors to enter the market, i.e., the advantages you have over your competitors.
Q: While in a practice session today, one of our advisors posed question to our team about the potential prize money. We have included the potential $25,000 prize in our presentation as one of the sources of funds for our product development, along with others that we have already or are pursuing. Is this an acceptable/good method? We would like our presentation to be as realistic as possible and do intend to include any prizes from competitions to go toward developing the product.
A: We don’t have rules or guidelines that would disallow mentioning use of prize money; however, I would consider referencing it something like, “we would devote any prize monies to...”
Q: Are there any specific requirements for distribution of money to teams? We have experienced some specific auditing requirements and reporting scenarios so far and would like to be aware of any potential stipulations we may have to adhere to in the future.
A: For the distribution of monies: the check is issued to the University for disbursement to the team members. The team will determine how the money is divided among members.
Q: We just recently noted that the competition is during our university’s spring break; there may be a possibility that not all members of our group can make it to the competition. Are there any rules or regulations which that might affect?
A: All team members are not required to attend to compete. However, student team members are strongly encouraged to participate to increase their chances for a successful outcome.
Q: I’m not sure how other teams operate, but ours is relatively “independent” of our advisor. We would love to have him come with us, but the possibility that he will be unavailable does exist. Would this introduce any problems for our team?
A: No. However, faculty advisors can help teams succinctly incorporate feedback during the course of the competition.
Q: Could we register as a single team or each member needs to register?
A: Each person is required to register due to the security clearance information necessary for on-site access at ORNL. Failure to do so may prohibit entry to the laboratory.
Q: I wanted to confirm that only one team member is required to register. Is that correct or do I need to have the rest of the team/advisor register as well?
A: No, that is not correct. All attendees are required to register (for logistical purposes- food, materials, space, etc). Teams (students and advisors) will not be charged a registration fee.
