Competition Rules – Reimagine Our Future

To compete, teams must have at least 1 full-time undergraduate student at a participating university (UIUC; ZJU-UIUC Institute in Haining, China; University of Pretoria). Individual full-time undergraduate students at participating universities are also encouraged to enter.
You may participate alone or (preferably) in a team of your own selection. There is no maximum number of teammates. Students are encouraged to pull members across different disciplines (e.g., physics, history, and computer science). Students may be members of more than one team. The competition coordinators will not assist entrants in being placed in teams (Students may use the “Find Teammates” link on our discussion board to find and recruit interested team members). The competition coordinators will also not become involved in team disputes.
Every participating team member must review, acknowledge, and agree to the competition rules. Teams will be disqualified if any team member has not agreed to the competition rules.

To enter, teams (or individuals) must fully complete and submit a registration form by the applicable deadline.

All deliverables and presentations are accessible to the public. Some of the presentations may also be recorded and made available on university sites or on the internet. It is also expected that media personnel will cover this competition. Any and all of these recordings or deliverables may be broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television, and the internet. The same material may also be made available to the printed media (newspapers, magazines, journals) for publication purposes. Any data or information discussed or divulged in the competition’s public sessions by entrants should be considered information that could possibly enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data of information discussed, divulged, or presented in these sessions. If a team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their deliverables or presentations, they must in advance obtain permission and authorization from the owners to use this material. Also, that material must be appropriately cited and credited.

Judges will review the fact sheets and select 10 to 12 finalist entries. The final judges will select the top six entrants based on their presentations and fact sheets.
Judges will also select one finalist entry whose submission showcases exemplary interdisciplinary thinking. Sustainability challenges are inherently complex and interconnected, spanning topics such as economic inequality, social justice, and environmental protection. Therefore, interdisciplinary approaches that integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines are advantageous, if not critical, to successfully meeting the challenges outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals. For this reason, an additional prize (1 winner) of $500 will be awarded to the finalist whose solution is deemed to be the most interdisciplinary.
The competition coordinators reserve the right to eliminate entrants based on non-compliance with rules or failure to submit mandatory deliverables. U of I students are required to comply with the UIUC Student Code,

Failure to show up to a scheduled event or failure to submit competition deliverables without prior notification of the competition coordinator (sustainability-committee@illinois.edu), will be understood as withdrawal from the competition. Team members who cannot attend a team presentation must notify fellow team members and the competition coordinator (sustainability-committee@illinois.edu) in advance so other arrangements can be made. Providing reasonable notice of cancellation and agreeing to other arrangements with the competition coordinator in advance of that activity will not count against your team.

At the discretion of the competition coordinators, extensions and exceptions may be offered. The competition coordinators reserve the right to review appeals on a case-by-case basis and rule on them with decisions that may differ from the rules.

The competition coordinating team will use a variety of communication channels to convey information to participants and the public. It is the sole responsibility of participants to ensure that they have made note of the various submission deadlines and requirements as stipulated on the competition website.

The shortlisted teams (or individuals) must present their solutions to the team of judges at the competition final award ceremony, planned at the Siebel Center for Design. (Depending on Covid-related measures, this ceremony might be presented virtually.) No stand-ins will be permitted for any team member. Providing reasonable notice of cancellation and agreeing to other arrangements with the competition coordinator (sustainability-committee@illinois.edu) in advance of that activity will not count against your team.
A team may use some or all of its participants as final presenters. The time limit will remain as posted for each team’s total presentation.

Seven cash prizes will be awarded: Top Prize (1 winner): $2000; Second prize (2 winners): $1000; Third prize (3 winners): $500; An additional prize (1 winner) of $500 will be awarded to the finalist whose solution is deemed to be the most interdisciplinary.
Winning money will be evenly split among team members and directly deposited into their bank accounts, where possible. In some instances it may be necessary to transfer the funds to the team leader’s bank account; the team leader will be responsible for disbursing funds to team mates.