Competition

USM International Makers Fair 2024

COMPETITION:

1. INTRODUCTION
The USM International Fair 2024 will be conducted in a friendly atmosphere and participants will have an opportunity to socialize and meet other makers with common interests from nearby countries and beyond. In this document, you will be briefed about the competition guidelines.

1.1.General Guidelines for Competition
Herein you will be briefed on the general guidelines for competition. All competition will be treated similar to that of exhibition, but with additional rules imposed. The detailed guidelines are presented in the later sections.

1.1.1. Before competition:
For every participating team, you are required to submit a short write up (not exceeding 600 words) to the judges. One thing to note is that you must have a physical representation of your project in the form of a product, not just any computer simulations.

1.1.2. During competition:
Each team is required to present their project orally to the judges in the presence of officials in a lecture setting. You are also required to showcase their project through an exhibition. Each project will be judged based on the quality of the physical project exhibit, 10 minutes oral presentation, write up and significance of the project.

ELIGIBILITY 

Participation is open to all secondary schools, higher education and university students from public and private schools recognized by the Ministry of Education of the respective countries. 

Competition Category

Category A: Secondary Schools & High Schools (Public & International)  

Category B: International Institutions & Local Universities

1. Each school or institution is allowed to send more than 1 entry (group) for each category. 
2. All teams must be formed by 3 members and 1 advisor. 
3. Presentation must involve all 3 members.
4. Advisor restricted to only advising (e.g. bureaucratic procedures, basic needs etc.).
5. Each group will be given one exhibition booth.
6. Each group is only allowed to be registered under one topic / theme only.
7. Registration to be done online by the advisor.
8. Duplicate registration is prohibited.

Registration 

Registration can be done through the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3n0KhYtZsvr5cL6kLYqEO-vMywpnYuEkJVfkFYGseR3V0rw/viewform?usp=sf_link   

Participants for Category B only need to pay registration fees in order to participate in competition.

Registration fee structure is counted per booth.

1. 1. 1. International Participants: USD 30
      2. Local Participants: MYR 80.

PROJECT COMPETITION SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION

There are FOUR (4) categories of competition scope that must be aligned with the theme of USM International Makers Fair 2024:  

• SCIENCE

The project could provide a representation of the fundamental understanding of the concepts of science and/or engineering involved. Innovative ideas are highly encouraged. A detailed discussion of any experimental findings, design and data analysis should be included in projects innovated or developed.

• HEALTH

The project should be capable of contributing to the well-being of the society.  The prototype must include aspects such as user friendly and cost effective.

• ENVIRONMENT

The project's scope could consist of elements or substances that can sustain in the environment. The design of the project should be productive and environmentally friendly.

• ENERGY

Create technological inventions to meet the needs of societal development and also consider the aspects of renewable and non-renewable energy. The project must be budget friendly.

Competition Proposal Content Guidelines

1. Proposals must be created and owned by the participants.
2. Proposals must be prepared and submitted in English.  
3. The problem or need and the proposed solution outlined in the proposals must relate to one of the topics given, i.e.
1. Science
2. Environment
3. Energy
4. Health
4. The proposals must present an innovative idea or solution that incorporates technology to address a specific developmental issue or requirement.
5. The proposals should have a total word count between 300 to 400 words in length.  This word limit is all-encompassing, i.e. including all bodies of text, titles, headings, tables, textboxes, footnotes, endnotes, and references.
6. Appendices and/or images are allowed in the proposal.

Competition Proposal Format Guidelines

1. Font: Time New Roman Font size: 12  
2. Spacing: 1.5 Alignment: Justified  
3. Page Size: A4 Indent (Left: 2.5 cm / Right: 2.0 cm/ Top: 2.0 cm/ Bottom: 2.0 cm)  
4. APA format for references. 
5. Save in doc/docx format. Then print out in PDF.  The doc/docx version might be requested if necessary.

Competition Proposal Submission Guidelines

1. Proposal submission is made through Google Form.  The link will be provided to you from the committee after registration has been confirmed. 
2. Proposal must be submitted by the teacher advisor, using work email rather than personal email.
3. Each submission must include the index number, and the proposal must be in PDF format.
1. The index number will be provided as a proof of registration / print out version of the registration form.
4. Failure to comply with any of the rules may result in disqualification.

Competition Hardware Guidelines

1. Budget spent for each project should not exceed RM 3000.
2. The Organizer reserves the right to request for receipts involved in the project at any time.
3. Project Hardware would be able to accommodate 4 ft  2 ft table.
4. Participants have to bear the transportation cost of the project hardware. Participants are allowed to set up their project hardware in the exhibition hall on 8th August 2024.

Competition Exhibition and Presentation Guidelines

Exhibition

Participants will be given one 4 ft  2 ft table to exhibit their project hardware.

Participants need to prepare extension cords (if needed) as such will not be provided by the organizer.

Presentation

The presentation of the project must be in English language.

Presentation time is 5 minutes, excluding Q&A from judges and panels.  Marks will be deducted if it exceeds the time limit.

Presentation must involve all 3 members, excluding the teacher advisor(s).

Teacher advisors are strictly restricted to play the advisory role only.

Participants are required to showcase their project hardware to the judges and panels.  This is included in the 5 minutes presentation.

Judging Criteria

This will be based on 

1. Creativity
2. Cost Effectiveness
3. Practicality

COMPETITION DATE & TIME 

1. Date: 9th August to 10th August 2024 
2. Time: 9:00a.m. – 6:00p.m. (Friday) / 9:00a.m. – 12:00p.m. (Saturday)

CONTACT OF ORGANIZER 

If you have any enquiries, you may contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Rules and Regulations

• Eligibility and Team Composition

1. All teams must be formed by 3 members and 1 advisor. 
2. Presentation must involve all 3 members.
3. Advisor restricted to only advising (e.g. bureaucratic procedures, basic needs etc.).

• Proposal Requirements 

1. Proposals must be created and owned by the participants.
2. Proposals must be prepared and submitted in English.  
3. The problem or need and the proposed solution outlined in the proposals must relate to one of the topics given, i.e.

• Science
• Environment
• Energy
• Health

1. The proposals must present an innovative idea or solution that incorporates technology to address a specific developmental issue or requirement.
2. The proposals should have a total word count between 300 to 400 words in length.  This word limit is all-encompassing, i.e. including all bodies of text, titles, headings, tables, textboxes, footnotes, endnotes, and references.
3. Appendices and/or images are allowed in the proposal.

• Formatting Guidelines

1. Font: Time New Roman Font size: 12  
2. Spacing: 1.5 Alignment: Justified  
3. Page Size: A4 Indent (Left: 2.5 cm / Right: 2.0 cm/ Top: 2.0 cm/ Bottom: 2.0 cm)  
4. APA format for references. 
5. Save in doc/docx format. Then print out in PDF.  The doc/docx version might be requested if necessary.

• Project Costs and Components

1. Cost of components for the project must not exceed RM 3000.
2. The Organizer reserves the right to request for receipts involved in the project at any time.
3. Project must be presented on a 4 ft  2 ft table.
4. The Organizer will not bear responsibility for the cost related to transporting the project.

• Deadlines and Disqualification

1. The deadline for submitting entries is 1st June 2024.  
2. The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify any teams that do not follow the rules and regulations.

• Judging Criteria

1. Creativity
2. Cost Effectiveness
3. Practicality

• Liability

1. The Organizer will not bear responsibility for any harm or injury caused before, during and after the competition. 

• Amendments

1. The Organizer reserves the right to change the Rules and Regulations at any time.

Proposal Structure

The proposal structure would be based on the items listed in the Table of Contents, which includes:

1. Introduction Background of the Study/ Description of the Problem/ Problem Statements  
2. Objectives
3. Theory/ Working Principles
4. Methods/ Methodology Proposed Method and Process inclusive of CREATIVITY, COST EFFECTIVENESS and PRACTICALITY 
5. Budget Spent
6. Results and Findings
7. Discussions and Recommendations
8. Conclusions
9. Acknowledgement
10. References
11. Appendices (OPTIONAL)

Description of Proposal Structure

You may find the description of each item in the Table of Content in the table below