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DEUTSCHE BANK CHALLENGE
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. The Deutsche Bank Challenge (hereafter DBC) seeks creative internationally
collaborative proposals from undergraduate teams offering innovative solutions to a set
list of pressing problems (see page 3) hindering the most impoverished segments of
Peruvian society. Teams must be comprised of students from both the Universidad de
Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC, Peru) and the Harvard University School of Engineering
and Applied Sciences (SEAS, USA).
UTEC and SEAS students will work
collaboratively under the guidance of faculty advisors from both these institutions to offer
solution(s) to one problem identified in page 3.
OBJECTIVES
2. The DBC offers this unique opportunity with the intent of training and encouraging
future engineers and/or scientists to work collaboratively in an international setting to
optimize perspective and skill sets to the benefit of disadvantaged communities in Peru.
Through this program, the DBC endeavors to build the framework for (1) training 21st
Century leaders by investing in students with the potential and drive to affect sustainable
and positive social impact, (2) establishing a successful and lasting scheme for
international collaborations, (3) creating awareness for the disparity between developed
and developing countries, and (4) promoting innovation and problem solving.
ELEGIBILITY
3. A team will ordinarily becomposed of two students from UTEC and two students from
SEAS. Team members will need to be majoring/concentrating in a science or engineering
field. Participation from women and minorities are especially encouraged.
4. One project grant will be awarded to the team that proposes the most promising and/or
innovative solution to a problem identified in Page 3. The proposal must clearly
demonstrate the design idea and testing procedures. Proposal must also include a detailed
work plan and or time-line with realistic estimates of progress at the 2, 4 and 6 month
marks. (6 months is given to bring the project to fruition.) An evaluation committee,
composed of faculty from both UTEC and SEAS will determine the winning application
based on the evaluation guidelines on page 3.
USE OF FUNDS
5. DBC will provide funds in the amount of $20,000.00 (twenty thousand) US dollars to the
winning team to use for the following as needed to ensure a good finished product: (1)
travel between Peru and USA (the team has to meet at least once in each country), (2)
materials, and (3) overhead charged by Harvard/UTEC depending on where funds are
spent. While basic tools and relevant facilities at both institutions will be available for
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the development of the project, students are encouraged to evaluate to the best of their
ability additional needs and requirements. If possible, this should be included as part of
the proposal.
6. Additional resources as relevant may be used, with approval from UTEC/SEAS faculty.
7. The grant does not cover issuance of visas nor health insurance.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND EVALUATION
8. Applications for the 2015 call will be received through March 22nd, 2015 17:00 (Peruvian
time). The awarded project will be announced on April 30th and the project will need to
be completed in the period from June to December 2015. The final report will need to be
turned in on January 4th, 2016.
9. Applications will need to be written based on proposal format outlined on page 4,
together with the CV of the team members, especially highlighting their participation in
undergraduate projects and/or extra-curricular activities. Applications will need to be
submitted to [email protected] before March 23 2015.
10. A jury composed of two faculty from SEAS, two faculty from UTEC and a representative
from DB will evaluate the proposals. The basic criteria for evaluation are given below.
BASIC PROJECT/PROPOSAL CRITERIA
1. Form team consisting of both UTEC and Harvard students with respective faculty
mentors. Proposal must include CV of all student team members; CV should include
research and extra-curricular activities.
2. Choose from one of the problems listed in page 3, and assess the community or
communities affected by it, including their needs. It is advisable to collaborate with an
existing organization already working in the community on similar or complementary
problems.
3. UTEC and Harvard teams will work to develop a new solution(s) to the identified
problem for the targeted community. The proposal will consider feasibility, costs,
implementation and/or development times, its impact for the targeted community and its
scalability.
4. Submission of the Project Proposal Form.
TIMETABLE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
2015 January 21, Launch of Challenge
2015 January 21-March 22, Application
2015 April 30, Winning proposal announced
2015 June 2- December 18 Research activities
2016 January 11, Presentation of final report.
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SET LIST OF CHALLENGES
1. Low-cost food supplements to decrease malnutrition.
2. Improvement of thermal comfort in Andean houses.
3. Point-of-use water purification systems for people without basic services.
4. Remote diagnosis of tropical diseases (e. g. malaria, dengue, tuberculosis).
5. Low-cost educational devices for facilitating STEM (science, technology, engineering and
math) education in elementary schools.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSALS
General criteria
Impact
(30%)
Specifics
Describe efficiently the extent of the problem and identifies
the end-user.
How critical is the problem to be solved?
Who is my customer?
Considers the adequacy of the proposed technology/process
as required/accepted by the user.
Do I have evidence that my results will be used by endusers?
Scalability
Adequate background information (including results from
other researchers/countries)
What has been previously done to tackle this problem?
Innovation
Originality of the proposed idea. Creativity, innovativeness.
(35%)
How novel is the idea?
Technical background.
What scientific principles will be employed in the solution of
the problem?
Sound use of funds, financial viability
How well are the funds distributed to accommodate project
needs?
Feasibility
Optimal distribution of time
(25%)
How realistic is the estimate for the project timeline?
Resources
Do you have everything you need for the project covered?
Team capabilities, Previous activities of members in engineering projects.
readiness
and How experienced are students in the topic specific to their
commitment
proposal, and in engineering projects in general?
(10%)
Weight (%)
10 %
10 %
10%
10%
10%
15%
10%
10%
5%
10%
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Project Proposal Form
Deustche Bank Challenge
Please present your proposal (in English) by populating the six boxes below. It should be typewritten in Times New
Roman, 12 point font or equivalent, and should not exceed five (5) A-4 pages of single-spaced text.. Respective
boxed sections below will expand as needed. Schemes and figures may be inserted to support an idea. The proposal
should be submitted in pdf format.
Replace with the Name of Project
1
Executive Summary
Give a concise overview that summarises the key project goals.
2
Identification of the problem and the targeted population
Please include the following as part of your response: Provide background information,
framing and context for the problem you want to solve. What is the extent of the problem?
Why is it important? Identify the target population and region/locale where this problem
is most severe. How would you involve the community you intend to work with/for?
Would you collaborate with any other community partner(s)? If so, describe your plans
for collaboration.
3
Background information on existing and past solutions
Explain the benefits and shortcomings of existing and previous solutions for the problem.
Include relevant scientific/technological concepts to support your answer. Why is an
improved/alternate solution needed?
4
Description of the solution/innovation/project/idea.
Describe your proposed solution and methodology in detail. Why is it innovative? How
does it solve the problem? How will your proposed solution complement or supersede
current/previous solutions?
5
Work plan, including details of the experiments to be carried out
Provide a 6-month plan (including dates) for design and testing activities; identify key
milestones as part of this plan. Identify and describe the resources you will need to bring
your plan to fruition, and any additional stakeholders needed (for testing, etc.).
Describe the risks and challenges you expect to encounter and your plans to mitigate.
6 Budget and justification of budget
Present a detailed and realistic budget of project costs including travel needs to the US
and/or Peru, materials, lab time, and overhead if relevant.
7 Team qualifications and additional resources
Include short biographies of the team members, including respective skills, knowledge
and experiences relevant to the implementation of your proposed project. List any
mentors, advisors, and resources available to you, and their expertise.
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8 Potential impact
Describe the expected benefits of your solution. Include your estimate of the number of
people it will benefit. What is the short-, medium- and long-term impact? Discuss
potential negative effect(s), if any and whether this is preferable to existing conditions.
How will you measure impact? How sustainable and scalable is your proposed solution?
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