Additional Information
OBJECTIVES Introduced in 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized, rewarded, and encouraged hundreds of students to share their inventive ideas with the world. The Competition promotes exploration in invention, science, engineering, technology, and other creative endeavors and provides a window on the technologies from which society will benefit in the future. ELIGIBILITY Students must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) full-time in any U.S. or Canadian college or university at least part of the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. In the case of a team (maximum of four students), at least one member of the team must meet the full-time eligibility criteria. The other team members must have been enrolled on a part-time basis (at a minimum) sometime during the 24-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. | JUDGING The committee of judges represents various fields, including mathematics, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, information technology, materials science, and medicine. Entries are judged on the originality and inventiveness of the new idea, process, or technology. The entry must be complete, workable, and well articulated. Entries are also judged on their potential value to society (socially, environmentally, and economically), and on the scope of use. The judges' decisions are final. | AWARDS Each year up to 12 finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to present their work to a panel of expert judges. Each finalist or finalist team will also receive a $2000 cash prize.
One Undergraduate and one Graduate winner or team each receive $15,000. One Grand Prize winner or team receives $25,000. Academic advisors of each winning team also receive a cash award.
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The Official Entry Form will be posted in the near future.
- Download the official entry form.
- The entry form must be completed and assembled along with the required information.
- Hard copies must be mailed to the Collegiate Inventors Competition. E-mails or faxes will not be accepted.
- Please email us at collegiate@invent.org if you encounter problems accessing the application. We will be happy to email you a copy.
REQUIREMENTS The entry must be the original idea and work product of the student/advisor team, and must not have been (1) made available to the public as a commercial product or process or (2) patented or published more than 1 year prior to the date of submission to the competition. The entry submitted must be written in English.
The invention, a reduced-to-practice idea or workable model, must be the work of a student or team of students with his or her university advisor. If it is a machine, it must be operable. If it is a chemical, it must be complete with evidence of successful application of the idea. If it is a new plant, color photographs or slides must be included in the submission. If a new or original ornamental design for an article of manufacture is submitted, the entire design must be included in the application. In addition, the invention should be reproducible.
Do not send your invention. Finalists will be notified and given instructions to send any necessary documentation. A university transcript must be provided at that time to verify student status.
DEADLINE
- The deadline for entering the 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition has passed. The deadline for entering the 2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition is TBD. Applications will be available soon.
TIPS FOR PREPARING ENTRIES
The following suggestions may help you in preparing your entry. Although these things will not guarantee a winner, they are traits consistently found in past winning applications:
- TYPED with pages numbered and stapled together (not permanently bound).
- CLEAR and to the point. What is your invention? It is important to articulate what the invention is and why it is an invention. The judges want to know specifically what you are adding to the technology. After writing your submission, consider asking a colleague to read it for clarity. It may also help to have someone review it who is not familiar with your work. Spelling and grammatical errors affect how your entry is judged.
- CONCISE. The more concise the better. Avoid jargon. Superfluous materials (i.e., research papers done on another subject matter that are submitted as appendices) detract from a strong entry. In order to get maximum scoring points, be sure that your essay covers all requested information.
- COMPLETE. A checklist is included in the application for your convenience.
- CONVINCING. It is up to you to convince judges that your entry is the best of many high quality inventions. Although the judges are experienced researchers, they may not be familiar with your particular project or specialty. Describe your work in the most positive, comprehensible manner, understandable to a scientifically literate person (i.e., like what is published in Scientific American or Nature publications).
CHECKLIST
The application must include:
- Student Information
- Student Essay, including supplementary material
- Literature Research
- Advisor Information
- Advisor Letter
- Statement of Student Enrollment Status
- Student/Advisor Release Form
Send four (4) sets of your completed application form and any supplementary material. Staple or hinge-clip each application packet. DO NOT assemble it in any permanent type of binding.
Send To:
Collegiate Inventors Competition
520 South Main St.
Suite 2423
Akron, OH 44311
QUESTIONS
Applicable Majors
All Fields of Study
