A new competition co-sponsored by IBM and IEEE provides teams of university students with an opportunity to bring some of the world's most compelling social and commercial challenges into the classroom.
The IBM/IEEE Smarter Planet Challenge: Student Projects Changing the World will debut in IEEE sections in Boston and the United Kingdom-Republic of Ireland during 2011, before being expanded worldwide next year. In the first-year pilot phase, up to three awards will be provided to each section to student teams that propose classroom projects derived from a menu of topics identified by the worldwide IBM Smarter Planet project that confront technology professionals, business leaders and policy-makers.
"Solutions for most Smarter Planet issues require technological expertise, an understanding of business and legal principles, and an appreciation for the social implications of innovation," says Wendy Murphy, Executive Program Manager, IBM Global University Programs. "By co-sponsoring this competition, we want to encourage students to work together in the kind of multi-disciplinary teams that have become a fixture in innovative organizations," she added.
Full details about application procedures and selection criteria are available at smarter planet challenge.
Under terms of the 2011 competition, teams of three to five members must include at least one student from electrical engineering, computer science or computer engineering, and at least one student from a different engineering field (such as biomedical, chemical, civil or mechanical) or non-engineering discipline (such as business, health sciences, law or the social sciences). Teams can propose projects of up to one standard course unit (such as a semester or quarter) in length, and the projects can be intended for use in classrooms ranging from primary and secondary education to the university level. Focus of the project proposals can be on any of ten industries (such as communications, electrical/automotive, energy/utilities and health care) included in the IBM Smarter Planet initiative (see http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/).
"We are pleased to introduce this new project through the IEEE sections in Boston and the United Kingdom-Republic of Ireland," declared Moshe Kam, 2011 President of IEEE, and Department Head and Robert Quinn Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University. "Both groups have large and active student representation, and both serve locations that are a frequent source of scientific breakthrough and technological transfer," he said.
Cash prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for the best student team proposals will be awarded by IBM and IEEE. The deadline for submission of project proposals is 15 November 2011. A panel of judges is expected to announce award recipients by mid-December. Full details about application procedures and selection criteria are available at smarter planet challenge.
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