[csidc:2003] - Fw: CSIDC Rules Clarification by "Gvozden Marinkovic" <mgvozden@eunet.yu>

----- Original Message -----
From: <SSaul@COMPUTER.ORG>
To: <CSIDC2003@COMPUTER.ORG>
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 3:27 PM
Subject: CSIDC Rules Clarification


> CSIDC Teams,
>
> Based on some questions that we have received, there seems to be a some
> confusion of the rules of the competition.  The following information
> should clarify things, but if you have additional questions, please do not
> hesitate to ask.
>
> 1. The spending limit
>
> Some students have asked about the spending limit of $400. They wrongly
> believe that it is a grant and that they will be reimbursed. The CSIDC
does
> not have the funds to reimburse the spending of teams. The spending limit
> has been imposed to ensure that the project tests a team’s ingenuity and
> not its buying power. We do not want teams to spend large amounts of money
> on complex hardware. The aim of the project is to get students to design
> new systems using a computer and a small amount of external hardware.
>
>
> 2. The project
>
> The aim of the project is to get a team of students to work together to
> create a computer-based solution to a problem. The computer may be a PC, a
> laptop, or a hand-held computer and the value of the computer does not
form
> part of the $400 spending limit. The project may, for example, integrate a
> cell phone into the system or it may use temperature or pressure or light
> sensors. It may use a low-cost video interface. It may use a receiver, and
> so on. BUT, the project must integrate these into a computer-based system.
> We have also stated that the social impact or usefulness of the project
> will be taken into account in the judging process.
>
> We very strongly urge all teams to look at the reports written by previous
> winners. These are on the competition’s website. These reports will give
> you an idea of the type of projects that have been successful in the past.
> More importantly, they will give you an idea of the expected quality.
> Please note that we expect the quality to increase year-by-year as the
size
> of the competition grows.
>
> It is important to appreciate that derivative projects will not be
> successful. The judges will not accept a reworking or modified version of
a
> previous project. A winning project should be original.
>
> Finally, the project must be the work of the students themselves. Faculty
> members and team mentors may only advise students. They cannot take part
in
> the project itself.
>
> Alan Clements
> Chair, CSIDC
> alanclements@ntlworld.com
>
>
> IEEE Computer Society
> 1730 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
> Washington, DC  20036
> tel: +1-202-371-0101
> fax: +1-202-728-0884
> email:  ssaul@computer.org
>