Competition FAQs and Judging

Application | Judging | Return to Competitions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What do I need to do to win the Grand or Runner Up Prize?

You need to post the mandatory final detailed blog and any optional extra credit blogs you choose to write. The judges and element14 will award points for each. (Scroll down to see how they will be scored.) The two participants who earn the maximum number of points will win the top prizes.

Can I still be eligible for the Grand Prize or Runner Up Prizes if I am not selected for one of the kits?

Yes. But you must purchase the kit parts, perform experiments with them, and post your blogs on the element14 Community in the competition area. (Note: Posting competition blogs on a site other than the element14 Community do not count.)

What must I do to successfully finish the competition?

To finish the competition, you must write and post a final detailed blog in the competition area. If you want to, you can post up to 5 more optional blogs for extra credit. Remember, the top prize winners are based on the total points you accrue, NOT just the final blog project summary.

How do you determine who wins the competition?

We award points for blogs based upon their quality, creativity and technical merit. See the judging section below for details.

Back to Top

Tips on Writing Your Application

The key to writing a winning application is to provide as much meaningful information about your proposed experiments as possible.

The application entry form should be adequately detailed to give a good idea of what you plan to do and how you plan to pull it off. By answering each of the following questions in your application, you will likely provide enough information:

1. Describe your technical background. Please include your current occupation and job title. If you are a student, list Undergrad or Grad student.
2. Why are you interested in this competition?
3. Describe the experiments you plan to perform? (Be as specific as you can)
4. Have you participated in the element14 Community? If so, how many posts have you written?
   • 0-5 blogs
   • 6-10 blogs
   • 11-20 blogs
   • 20 or more blogs

All interested element14 members must submit an application entry form before the end of enrollment date.

Here are some other suggestions for completing a winning application:

1. Please complete all required information (contact information, etc.) Always use the email address that is associated with your element14 member account.
2. Answer all of the application questions. Incomplete applications are deemed ineligible.
3. Tell us why you want to be selected.
4. Before deciding what you want to write, think about the following things: You are entering a competition. The most persuasive applications are the ones that attract the eye of the judges.
5. Be as detailed as possible, but don't write a book.

A single sentence application will never be selected. This competition is not a game of chance. The applications are thoroughly read and reviewed by the program manager.

Back to Top

Judging

element14 members volunteer to judge the competition. Typically, our judges come from our Top Members group. (In some cases, we use members who are experienced engineers, but not a Top Member.)

element14 Community Judges element14 Community Team

Judging is based upon a point system described below:

The final project blog will be an average of the scores rated by the judges and worth a total up to 300 points.

The five extra credit blogs will be individually scored with a 20-point perfect score based on a very high level of quality and thoroughness. A blog with more than one of the below characteristics would get an additive score, based on quality.

The following itemizes how these 5 blogs will be scored:

• A blog that contains a decent unboxing or detailed photographs will get up to 20 points.
• A blog that contains a deep-dive into the components will get up to 20 points.
• A blog that contain a fair amount of information towards an actual experiment will get up to 20 points.
• A blog that significantly helps newcomers to work with the technology will get up to 20 points.
• A blog that contains a good quality video that supports the written blog will get up to 20 points. (Note: In some instances, a participant will write video blogs, not written blogs. Video blogs will be viewed by element14 and scored based on all of the characteristics detailed here.
• A blog that uses components in an application or prototype to test or experiment with them will get up to 20 points.