What is the AYSI Idea Fair/ Competition Program?
After the two-month long training and development program, SCI students will compete in their own division's Idea Fair, using their programming and AI skills to create and present impactful apps that translate into real-world research topics. Judged by the AYSI team, participating students have the opportunity to win prizes and further mentorship into the 2021 school year. Our AYSI mentors have won national and international awards for visualizing real-world problems and creating AI-based solutions. We want to take our experience and help students propel their ideas into physical applications and future research.
After the two-month long training and development program, SCI students will compete in their own division's Idea Fair, using their programming and AI skills to create and present impactful apps that translate into real-world research topics. Judged by the AYSI team, participating students have the opportunity to win prizes and further mentorship into the 2021 school year. Our AYSI mentors have won national and international awards for visualizing real-world problems and creating AI-based solutions. We want to take our experience and help students propel their ideas into physical applications and future research.
Presentations
Once teams have completed work on their projects, they will be asked to give a short presentation to a panel of judges from July 30th - August 1st. The resource document provides more in depth information regarding presentation guidelines and rules.
The first 2 days of the Competition Program presentations is made up of the preliminary round of judging. Groups will give a 4-minute presentation on the problem they tackled and the mobile application they created to address it. This presentation will be followed by a 2-minute Q&A session in which judges can ask questions.
Presentation time is intentionally set to be 5 minutes or less to guide students to be concise yet specific about their research. Judges will ask questions that force students to think critically and explain the decisions they made along the development process. 6 projects from each division (Senior and Junior) will advance to the final round of judging.
The Final round of presentations occurs on July August 1st. Groups selected to compete in this round will give a 5-minute presentation followed by a 3-minute Q&A session. Prizes will be announced after all groups have given their presentation.
Within their presentations, students are encouraged to mention the motivation for their research, their process for developing a solution, as well as their results and any demonstrations, if applicable. Students should also mention any software, APIs, or any other technologies used when developing their solutions.
Group performance and grading will be conducted based on a rubric that considers the overall presentation. In addition to being assessed on content, students should include any videos or graphics that will help judges better understand their research. Presentations should be thoroughly rehearsed and all group members must participate when explaining their project.
Once teams have completed work on their projects, they will be asked to give a short presentation to a panel of judges from July 30th - August 1st. The resource document provides more in depth information regarding presentation guidelines and rules.
The first 2 days of the Competition Program presentations is made up of the preliminary round of judging. Groups will give a 4-minute presentation on the problem they tackled and the mobile application they created to address it. This presentation will be followed by a 2-minute Q&A session in which judges can ask questions.
Presentation time is intentionally set to be 5 minutes or less to guide students to be concise yet specific about their research. Judges will ask questions that force students to think critically and explain the decisions they made along the development process. 6 projects from each division (Senior and Junior) will advance to the final round of judging.
The Final round of presentations occurs on July August 1st. Groups selected to compete in this round will give a 5-minute presentation followed by a 3-minute Q&A session. Prizes will be announced after all groups have given their presentation.
Within their presentations, students are encouraged to mention the motivation for their research, their process for developing a solution, as well as their results and any demonstrations, if applicable. Students should also mention any software, APIs, or any other technologies used when developing their solutions.
Group performance and grading will be conducted based on a rubric that considers the overall presentation. In addition to being assessed on content, students should include any videos or graphics that will help judges better understand their research. Presentations should be thoroughly rehearsed and all group members must participate when explaining their project.
Judging
Group presentations will be judged based on the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Rubric. It is important to note that in addition to being graded on the effectiveness and ability of the solutions they create, roughly ⅓ of the points will be earned from the presentation portion. This includes the Q&A session as well as any visuals, videos, or other aspects of a presentation.
Judges will consist of software and IT professionals as well as professors from universities in the North Texas area. Judges are experts in their field and have a great deal of knowledge about developing solutions. Students are encouraged to listen to the judges’ feedback and recommendations. After the competition program, students can continue to work on their research and improve their applications based on judges’ suggestions.
Group presentations will be judged based on the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Rubric. It is important to note that in addition to being graded on the effectiveness and ability of the solutions they create, roughly ⅓ of the points will be earned from the presentation portion. This includes the Q&A session as well as any visuals, videos, or other aspects of a presentation.
Judges will consist of software and IT professionals as well as professors from universities in the North Texas area. Judges are experts in their field and have a great deal of knowledge about developing solutions. Students are encouraged to listen to the judges’ feedback and recommendations. After the competition program, students can continue to work on their research and improve their applications based on judges’ suggestions.
Prize Information
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many cities across the US have issued stay-at-home orders to ensure that the spread of the disease is limited. Consequently, until further notice, the AYSI Summer Institute Award Ceremony will be held virtually. To maintain eligibility for any awards received, students will be required to attend the virtual ceremony on Zoom and maintain camera/microphone access for the duration of the ceremony. We will post details (e.g., sign-up, link, dress code, etc.) through Slack, email, and social media prior to each ceremony.
Awards (including but not limited to cash prizes, certificates, and trophies) will be delivered either via email (parent or student) or physical mail. The mode of transportation will depend on the nature of the prize. For example, digital gift cards will be shared through email while trophies will be mailed to a provided student address. If an award is not claimed within 24 hours of notification, the prize will be subject to retraction and be given to another eligible student. Awards include: Best in Show Grand Prize, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place.
Note: Cash prize amounts are tentative and subject to availability.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many cities across the US have issued stay-at-home orders to ensure that the spread of the disease is limited. Consequently, until further notice, the AYSI Summer Institute Award Ceremony will be held virtually. To maintain eligibility for any awards received, students will be required to attend the virtual ceremony on Zoom and maintain camera/microphone access for the duration of the ceremony. We will post details (e.g., sign-up, link, dress code, etc.) through Slack, email, and social media prior to each ceremony.
Awards (including but not limited to cash prizes, certificates, and trophies) will be delivered either via email (parent or student) or physical mail. The mode of transportation will depend on the nature of the prize. For example, digital gift cards will be shared through email while trophies will be mailed to a provided student address. If an award is not claimed within 24 hours of notification, the prize will be subject to retraction and be given to another eligible student. Awards include: Best in Show Grand Prize, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place.
Note: Cash prize amounts are tentative and subject to availability.