Implementation

Implementation

 

  • The Application Process Structure
  • The IC follows a five (5) -round process.

Round One: Application  

Individuals/Teams who are interested in participating in the Competition, they should fill in an online application form through the Competition’s web portal. The application form will be composed of seven (7) simple textboxes: 

  • Name of School Unit(s)* 
  • Grade* 
  • Short Description of the Idea (maximum 1-page text)* 
  • Full Name of Supervisor(s) (non-obligatory) 
  • No of Students* 
  • Valid Email Address * 
  • Telephone Number (non-obligatory) 

 

A promotional campaign created in the preparatory period (see ‘Timeline’), will continue to run during this stage will through the use of: 

  • IC’ web portal, 
  • AccessCoVE’ web portal and social media pages, 
  • Existing communication tools used by each PP, 
  • Existing communication tools used by AccessCoVE’ stakeholders4. 

Round Two: Mentoring 

Depending on the applicants’ countries, AccessCoVE Partners will designate national mentors who will be in charge of conducting three (3) online sessions providing guidance, advice, feedback, tips and support to all applicants/contestants to prepare their submission in the best way possible. 

Round Three: Submission  

The submission has two (2) components- one (1) mandatory and one (1) optional: 

  1. Proposal submission (Obligatory) 

Teams/ Individuals will submit a document, up to three (3) pages long following the formatting requirements template. Submissions not meeting the page limit or formatting requirements will be disqualified. This document should be submitted as a single PDF and the file must be no larger than two (2) Mb in size. The Paper should include at least: 

  • Proposed solution’s name, team name, name of school(s), name and affiliation of supervisor 
  • A description of the proposed solution, the approach(s) taken, the real-life problems that the solution is solving, and participants’ main claims for their proposed solution. 
  • Clear illustrations of key aspects of your proposed solution 
  • Reference to principles, sources of inspiration (if relevant) 
  • Acknowledgment of partial or incomplete solutions or next steps to convert the idea into a reality. 
  • Acknowledgment of any assistance drawn from outside the student teams/individuals (e.g., advisors, domain experts, existing solutions, users) 
  • Reference of any external source used (bibliography, pictures, graphs, tables etc.) 

 

  1. 2. Video Presentation (Optional)

Contestants, if they wish, can provide a video presentation (max 5-minute) with a file-size no larger than 1Gb (acceptable audio file formats: MP4, MP3, AVI, FLV, MOV, WMV). The video may illustrate how their solution fits the lives of the users with the help of scenarios. 

It may also illustrate some details of the interface and the information presented. The Video may include: 

  • Examples of significant contextual data and its analysis (primary, secondary research, or both), 
  • Key creative sources of design inspiration (existing designs and systems) 
  • Steps of the evolving solution, 
  • Scenarios depicting how the solution fits in the life of users and solves problems, 
  • Highlights during the idea development stage. 

 

The videos will be used for promotional purposes on the Competition’s web portal as well as AccessCove’s social media pages. 

Round Four: Selection  

Each application will be reviewed by a transnational Committee of Judges (CoJ) comprising members of the AccessCoVE and experts in the field of Accessibility. The evaluation must be based (at least) on the following criteria, each of one will have the same weight in the selection process: 

Criteria 

  • Relevance to the topic of accessibility 
  • Impact and the lasting benefits of the project for disabled persons’ daily life. 
  • Creativity, 
  • Applicability and effectiveness, 
  • Description adequacy and aesthetic performance, 
  • Communication style, 
  • Clarity and credibility of design focus, problem, purpose, and solution, 
  • Quality of argument used to justify why the solution is worthy of consideration, 
  • Quality, originality, and relevance of design solution 
  • Interdisciplinary discovery, 
  • Innovative solution with broad-range implications 

 

At the end of this stage, five (5) teams/individuals will qualify for the final. 

Round Five: Final Presentation 

The finalists will present their process and solution in an online session, open to the public. During this final round, students will give a short presentation of their projects which will be evaluated by the panel of judges. 

Final presentations must include at least: 

  • The methodology that was followed, 
  • A concise description of the proposed solution, 
  • Acknowledgement of partial or incomplete solutions. 

 

Winners will be announced in reverse order: 

  • a fifth-place winner 
  • a fourth-place winner, 
  • a third-place winner, 
  • a second-place winner, 
  • and a first-place winner. 

 

Teams/Individuals who are awarded will have the opportunity, if they wish, to receive additional support from the CoJ in order to explore the possibility of transforming their projects/proposals into innovative products or startups.