Wege Prize 2019 – International Student Design Competition (Over $30,000 in prizes)

November 18, 2018.

Online.

USA (Final Event).

(Prize)

WEGE PRIZE 2019: NOW ACCEPTING TEAM APPLICATIONS

Applications are open for Wege Prize 2019. Wege Prize is an international student design competition focused on solving complex “wicked” problems through the power of transdisciplinary collaboration. They are looking for undergraduate and graduate students who want to work together to re-think and re-design the way our economies work by creating regenerative solutions that have a widespread and lasting impact.

Wege Prize is an annual competition that ignites games-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college/university students around the world to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries to redesign the way economies work. Participants contend for over $30,000 (USD) in total cash prizes, all while helping to show the world what the future of problem solving looks like.

The Challenge

For Wege Prize 2019 we will be revisiting the following wicked problem: How can we create a circular economy?

Wege Prize teams must leverage their transdisciplinary makeup to collaboratively design and propose a solution to a wicked problem of their choosing that can, in turn, help solve the wicked problem of transitioning from a linear economic model to a circular economic model. Possible solutions include, but are not limited to:

• Products
• Services
• Businesses/non-profit organizations

Over the course of nine months and four distinct phases, Wege Prize teams will grow their ideas from an informal research plan into a fully-developed solution that can be prototyped and tested in the real world. Guided by direct feedback from competition judges, teams will work to rethink and redesign the way economies work by creating regenerative solutions that have a widespread and lasting positive impact.

Opportunity Focus Areas:

• Economics
• Finance
• Business

English.

ALL WORLD COUNTRIES.

Timeline

• August 27: Team Application Period Open
• November 18: PHASE I DEADLINE Team Application and Research Plan
• December 2: Judges’ Feedback on Phase I submissions
• January 20: PHASE II DEADLINE Project Summary 1st Draft
• February 3: Judges’ Feedback on Phase II submissions
• March 17: PHASE III DEADLINE Project Summary 2nd Draft
• March 31: Judges’ Feedback on Phase III submissions
• May 26: PHASE IV DEADLINE Project Summary Final Draft Final Presentation Materials
• May 31: FINAL PRESENTATION AND AWARDS EVENT

Individual Participation Requirements

To be eligible to participate on a Wege Prize 2019 team, you must:

• Attend a college, university, or equivalent institution of higher education anywhere in the world
• Be a student enrolled in a full-time (or equivalent) undergraduate or graduate program for the duration of the competition*

Note: Both undergraduate and graduate level students are eligible to compete. Teams can be composed of both undergraduate and graduate students if they so choose. 

Team Participation Requirements

To be eligible to participate in Wege Prize 2019, teams must:

• Have exactly five members
• Represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines*
• Represent at least two (2) different institutions of higher education, such as colleges, universities, or separate colleges/schools within a larger university. (For instance, a team member from Example University’s School of Engineering and a team member from Example University’s School of Earth Sciences would be considered as representing two different institutions.)*

Note: These are the minimum requirements. Teams with the greatest disciplinary and institutional diversity will likely have a higher probability of success.

Judging Criteria

Wege Prize judges are looking for solutions that address the shortcomings of a linear economic model on a systemic level. The most successful solutions will:

• Think in systems by demonstrating an understanding of how parts influence one another within a whole, as well as the relationship of the whole to the parts.
• Consider the economics and viability of the solution within natural, social, and financial systems.
• Preserve and enhance natural capital by controlling finite resource stocks and balancing renewable resource flows.
• Optimize resource yields by circulating products, components, and materials at their highest utility at all times in both technical and biological cycles.
• Foster system effectiveness by designing out waste and negative externalities such as pollution, toxicity, and climate change.

Note: To win, teams must have at least one member in attendance to present at the final presentation and awards event.

(Prize)

Wege Prize teams will contend for over $30,000 (USD) in total cash prizes, awarded by our panel of judges. Prizes are as follows:

• 1st place – $15,000 (USD)
• 2nd place – $10,000 (USD)
• 3rd place – $5,0000 (USD)
• Finalist Award – $1,000 (USD)

All prizes are split equally among the five team members.

Please fill in the required application form.

IS YOUR TEAM Ready to APPLY FOR WEGE PRIZE 2019?
Please make sure you do the following first:

1. Verify that your team meets the individual and team participation requirements.
2. Read the Wege Prize 2019 Design Brief. 
3. Compose your Team Application (500-1000 words) – REQUIRED TO APPLY
4. Compose your Research Plan (500-1000 words) – REQUIRED TO APPLY

Apply Now

Know more about this opportunity:

Official Website

To learn how to write CV, Essays, Personal statement,  and know about recommendation letters click here:

Marj3 recommended links

This Scholarship Published by:
“Alyaa Abdelraouf/ Egypt“

Reviewed by” Alaa Faramawy/ Egypt ”
MARJ3 Intern
MARJ3 Scholarships team