The vision behind this global competition is to promote the growth of women-led startups in technical fields by motivating female students and young researchers to develop entrepreneurial and business mindsets based on their research and development (R&D) endeavors.

The overarching theme of the competition is ‘Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability’, which has been devised to empower the next generation to proactively address the challenges of global climate change.

Team Composition

  • Each team should have at minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 participants, including a mentor/leader.
  • Each mentor/leader must be a female and, if selected as a finalist, must also be one of the presenters in the live-pitch.
  • Both men and women are welcomed and encouraged to participate as team members.
  • Each individual can only be on one team.
  • At least one of the team members needs to be an IEEE WIE Member (student grade or above)
  • Eligible for students, postdoctoral fellows, and young professionals (defined as within 15 years of a B.Sc. degree by the IEEE YP program)

Schedule

**Judging of the finalists’ presentations are currently underway. All finalists will be notified of their decision in the coming weeks**

  • Initial proposal platform opens: May 15, 2024
  • Initial proposal platform closes: June 24, 2024
  • Finalist Presentations: 29 July – 30 July

Ranking/Judging

On a scale of 1- 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree), initial proposals will be judged based on the following statements below:

  • The team has demonstrated of a thorough and correct understanding of the problem.
  • The implementation of the proposed innovation/solution is feasible.
  • The proposal is clear and contains sufficient detail.
  • The innovation/solution is an original idea.
  • The innovation/solution’s potential impact is large and wide-reaching.

Prizes

First-place teams and honorable mentions will be recognized for the five categories listed below. Each first-place team will receive 500 USD. Both first-place teams and honorable mentions will receive e-certificates.

  • Best Innovation Pitch
  • Best Impact Pitch
  • Best Transformative Business Idea
  • Best Spotlight Pitch
  • Best Step Ahead Pitch

Competition Chairs

Dr. Shawana Tabassum – Mary John and Ralph Spence Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Tyler, TX, USA

For questions relating to this competition please contact shawanatabassum@gmail.com.