Performing proficiently during three activities will be essential to securing a spot in the winner’s circle at the upcoming Boot Camp. One of these activities is the White House reception on Wednesday, June 13. The other two take place on Thursday, June 14, during the presentation of displays and later, the formal presentation. The overall effectiveness that finalist teams demonstrate through the combination of these three proceedings will determine the ultimate winner of this year’s Challenge. In other words, a team must perform well at all activities in order to win.
A distinguished panel of judges will adjudicate all three events using criteria that assess the finalist teams’ abilities in skillfully representing their innovations during the Wednesday White House reception and the Thursday presentation of the displays, and in convincingly conveying the merits, value, and potential of their ideas during Thursday’s formal presentations. These three events will be scored separately. The scores will then be weighted—55% for the White House event and displays; 45% for the formal presentations—and combined to produce a total score.
Judges will be considering the following criteria during both activities.
For the White House Reception
- Do the team’s interactions:
- Convincingly champion their innovation’s value and significance;
- Effectively explain the science behind, and the uniqueness of, their innovation;
- Make clear how society benefits;
- Express optimism and vision;
- Reflect positively on their team and their institutions; and
- Convey a roadmap for moving the project forward?
For the Presentation of Displays
- Does the display:
- Identify a societal need;
- Demonstrate how the innovation satisfies this need;
- Communicate the innovation’s novelty, feasibility, and market viability; and
- Substantiate the innovation’s ability to produce measurable benefits?
- Does the team:
- Exhibit enthusiasm;
- Knowledgeably represent the innovation;
- Proactively seek out and engage with visitors;
- Ask questions of visitors and actively listen to answers; and
- Align their responses and interactions to the interests of the audience?
For the Formal Presentations
- Does the presentation:
- Clearly identify the societal problem, need, or opportunity that the innovation addresses;
- Concisely explain how the idea solves this problem, meets the need, or pursues the opportunity;
- Succinctly convey the benefits the idea can or will produce;
- Tell a complete story that persuasively signals the idea’s novelty, feasibility, and market viability;
- Reveal the idea’s uniqueness and differentiate it from other existing or possible approaches;
- Actively urge the listener to support further development of the idea;
- Acknowledge that the innovation results from the collaboration and contributions of the individual team members?