2022-2023 CASS Student Design Competition Official Rules

Main scope:

Undergraduate students would suggest and execute projects on electrical engineering and related areas. The focus should be on finding a solution to a real-life problem based on circuits and systems.

Team requirements:

  • The teams should have from 3 to 10 members, that must be undergraduate students or high school students (until 31 December 2022)
  • Each team should have at least one mentor, that must be faculty members or graduate students. The mentors are not considered as team members
  • At least 3 team members must be IEEE CASS members (for 2022 and 2023)

Competition phases:

The competition will be carried out in three phases:

  • The first phase at the Chapter level
  • A second phase at the Regional level
  • A third and final phase at the world level during ISCAS 2023

The first phase of the competition (Chapter level):

  • It should be organized by the local Chapters (or the local Sections)
  • There will be one local competition per Chapter
  • For registering in the competition, the teams must submit a registration form (using the provided template) containing "title", "team composition", "brief description", and "expected outcome"
  • The registration has to be made by sending, by email, the registration form to the Chair of the CASS Chapter from the geographical area the team belongs to, with a copy to the corresponding regional CASS BoG representative. Alternatively, if there is no CASS chapter in the team's area, the submission should be just sent to the corresponding regional CASS BoG representative
  • CASS will provide funding ($500 USD) for each local competition
  • Chapters (or Sections) are encouraged to seek sponsorship from local industry
  • The composition of the local judging panel for the first phase:
  • At least three members, appointed by the local organization
  • There must be at least one member from the local industry in the judging panel
  • The non-industry members should be CASS members
  • Conflicts of interest should be avoided
  • The proposed projects should be screened by the local judging panel
  • The evaluation will be carried out with the teams making a live demonstration to the judging panel
  • Projects will be evaluated based on "Technical quality", "Creativity", "Relevance to a real-life problem in circuits and systems", and "Accessibility to and engagement with undergraduate and high school students"

The second phase of the competition (Regional level):

  • Up to two projects from each chapter will compete
  • The composition of the judging panel for the second phase:
  • At least 5 members
  • Members should be preferentially from the corresponding region
  • CASS Technical Committees (TCs) should take part in the appointment of the judging panel
  • The corresponding BoG Regional Representative may also suggest members
  • The CASS VP Technical Activities and VP Regional Activities and Membership should endorse the suggestions and decide on the final composition of the judging panel
  • Each team must produce a report (using the provided template) together with a video with a detailed demonstration of the project
  • The video should last at most 10 minutes
  • The video and report should be uploaded to the CASS website here
  • Each video has to be validated by the local judging panel (from the first phase of the competition) before submission
  • The evaluation will be made remotely, with the aid of the report and the demonstration video

The final phase of the competition (World level during ISCAS):

  • One winner from each region will compete
  • The final phase will take place during ISCAS
  • CASS will provide a travel grant and ISCAS registration for a maximum of three team members, who must be IEEE CAS members, to be present at the final phase of the competition
  • The travel grant value will be $1,200 USD within the regions R1-7, R8, R9, or R10, and $1,700 USD for the travels to other regions
  • The team winning the final competition will be awarded a prize of $3,000 USD
  • The composition of the judging panel for the final phase:
  • At least 5 members
  • CASS Technical Committees (TCs) should take part in the appointment of the judging panel
  • CASS TCs to be involved should be defined by the CASS VP Technical Activities
  • CASS TCs should ensure the appointment of regional industry representatives to the judging panel
  • The BoG Regional Representatives may also suggest members
  • The CASS VP Technical Activities and VP Regional Activities and Membership should endorse the suggestions and decide on the final composition of the judging panel
  • The teams are allowed to submit the final version of the report using the provided template
  • The evaluation will be carried out with the teams making a live demonstration to the judging panel