The Competition Process
There are three phases to the Siemens Competition:
Initial Phase
Applications are due to Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ by 5 p.m. Eastern Time October 1, 2012.
Students may enter as individuals or as part of a team. Entries are "blind read" by a panel of judges assembled by The College Board and its partner Educational Testing Service. The judges have related expertise to the project being reviewed. They do not know anything about the student; papers are judged solely on the merits of the abstract and supporting documentation.
From this initial review up to 300 projects are selected as semi-finalists.
Second Phase - Regional Finals
Up to thirty individual students and thirty teams (of 2 or 3 students) are chosen to compete at six regional competitions hosted by our partner universities MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, UT Austin and California Institute of Technology.
As "Regional Finalists", students present to a panel of judges from the host university. They are expected to display a poster presentation of their project and give a twelve minute oral presentation, followed by an intensive Q&A. Individuals are compared to individuals, teams to teams.
Students who win their regional competition receive a silver medal and scholarships of $3,000 (team members receive $6,000 to be divided equally between team members) and go on to compete at the national event in Washington DC. Each competitor receives a bronze medal and a $1,000 scholarship. Winners' names are posted on the Siemens Foundation website the Monday following the regional event.
2012 Competition Schedule
November 2nd and 3rd, 2012
Region Two: University of Texas at Austin
Region Five: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
November 9th and 10th, 2012
Region Three: University of Notre Dame
Region One: California Institute of Technology
November 16th and 17th, 2012
Region Four: Carnegie Mellon University
Region Six: Georgia Institute of Technology
Third Phase - National Finals
December 1st, 2012 - December 4th, 2012
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
At the national finals students compete against all the winners of the regional events, a total of six individuals and six teams. They experience the same rigorous judging procedures as the regional events by a panel of professional scientists. As national finalists, students receive a gold medal.
The National Recognition Gala Dinner will be held in Washington DC on Monday, December 3rd, 2012. Competition winners will be announced at a press conference, Tuesday, December 4th, 2012.
The top individual and top team each receive $100,000 scholarships. Additional finalists receive scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
Entry and Registration Instructions
A key component of the Siemens Competition experience are the regional events that take place during November, hosted by six prestigious universities across the U.S. with which the Siemens Foundation has partnered. The universities provide the site, facilities and judges for the regional events as well as host the dinners and schedule the guest speakers.
Click here for more information and links to our university partners:
