For complete details on the rules, requirements, and regulations that govern Wege Prize, refer to the helpful links below:
Individual and Team Participation Requirements - Who is eligible to complete in Wege Prize?
The Challenge - What does Wege Prize challenge competitors to accomplish?
The Process - What kinds of materials are Wege Prize competitors expected to submit and when?
Judging Criteria - What are Wege Prize judges looking for?
The Fine Print - What am I agreeing to by competing in Wege Prize?
PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
PLEASE NOTE: WEGE PRIZE IS A TEAM COMPETITION—INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION IS NOT ALLOWED.
TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN WEGE PRIZE, TEAMS MUST:
Have exactly five members
Represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines*
Represent at least two (2) different institutions of higher education, such as colleges, universities, or separate colleges/schools within a larger university. (For instance, a team member from Example University's School of Engineering and a team member from Example University's School of Earth Sciences would be considered as representing two different institutions.)*
*These are the minimum requirements. Teams with the greatest disciplinary and institutional diversity will likely have a higher probability of success.
TO BE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN A TEAM, INDIVIDUALS MUST:
Attend a college, university, or equivalent institution of higher education anywhere in the world
Be a student enrolled in a full-time (or equivalent) undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate program, for the duration of the competition*
Teams can be composed of a mix of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students if they so choose.
*If you are graduating before May of the competition year, you must still be a student until at least the Phase 2 deadline.
HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM ELIGIBILITY? EMAIL THEM TO WICKED@WEGEPRIZE.ORG.
The Challenge
THE CHALLENGE FOR WEGE PRIZE PARTICIPANTS IS TO:
Build a strong and diverse transdisciplinary team of five
Identify a complex, “wicked” problem to address
Develop a compelling solution to the problem that is built on the three core principles of the circular economy:
1 - ELIMINATE WASTE
AND POLLUTION
We need to consider waste and pollution as design flaws rather than inevitable
by-products of the things we make.
2 - KEEP PRODUCTS AND
MATERIALS IN USE
We need to design products to be reused, repaired, re-manufactured, or, better yet: kept in circulation and out of the landfill.
3 - REGENERATE OUR NATURAL SYSTEMS
We need closed loop systems that actively enhance water and nutrient cycling and help the entire ecosystem renew and recover.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
Products
Services
Businesses
Over the course of nine months, from the opening of the application period through the final presentation and awards event, teams will compete to advance through up to four distinct phases, growing their ideas from an informal proposal into a robust and feasible solution informed by research, market analysis, and real-world prototyping and testing. Each step of the way, they will be guided by direct feedback from a panel of expert judges who will help them strengthen their ideas, push the limits of possibility, and support bringing their plans into fruition.
WEGE PRIZE IS LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS THAT ARE:
Circular - helping accelerate the transition to a circular economy and a shift towards renewables. Not just recycling/upcycling, but designing out waste entirely
Innovative - providing unique value and exploring untapped potential
Viable - demonstrating the potential for marketability, profitability, and financial sustainability
Scaleable - effectively contribute to expanding the circular economy at a global level
Systemic - accounting for the way in which parts of a system both influence each other and work as a whole
Not solely reliant on behavioral change - if behavioral change is needed for your solution to work, how will you help drive it?
Human centered - includes demonstrated research and consideration of the user and any affected communities in all aspects of the design
Judging Criteria
Through the competition, teams will be judged on the following criteria:
DEPTH OF RESEARCH
To what depth have you identified, studied and analyzed the problem?
Have you researched existing solutions?
Have you consulted stakeholders and experts to refine your solution?
Have you considered how your solution fits into or transforms existing systems?
PRESENTATION
Is your presentation organized and visually appealing?
Does it deliver a clear message with a compelling and concise narrative?
Can you provide immediate and thoughtful answers to the judges’ questions?
INNOVATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
Does the solution help accelerate a circular economy?
Is your solution technologically, economically, and financially feasible?
Is your solution intentionally sensitive to the social and/or cultural context in which it operates?
Is there a proven need and sufficient motivation for people to use your solution?
Have you effectively considered what system conditions need to exist to make your solution possible?
Have you prototyped your solution?
COLLABORATION
Have you built a strong and balanced transdisciplinary team?
Beyond dividing up different tasks, have you worked across disciplinary boundaries and brought your different perspectives together?
Have you effectively engaged stakeholders, mentors and/or subject matter experts in your design process?
The Fine Print
This competition is void where prohibited by law. There is no fee to enter the competition, however, you are responsible for any costs you may incur for creating and submitting the materials that comprise your solution.
Upon the date of submission, your solutions and any materials that comprise them will remain your intellectual property, which you are free to develop and promote at your own discretion. However, by submitting the materials that comprise your solution in this competition, you automatically grant Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) and The Wege Foundation the right to use said materials, as well as your personal profile information, including but not limited to, name, school, major, team name, image, and likeness, for any non-commercial purpose, including display, promotion, and assessment. Any non-commercial use of the materials that comprise your solution by the above parties will be accompanied by the appropriate attribution as to their creator and/or source.
To win, teams must have at least one member in attendance to present at the final presentation and awards event. All winners of cash prizes are solely responsible for any applicable U.S. income tax. U.S. income taxes will be withheld from any cash prize awarded to foreign citizens.
Any team or individual that fails to meet the eligibility requirements at any point in the competition will be disqualified. No exemptions to the individual and/or team eligibility requirements will be granted unless an Act of God is involved, including but not limited to, death or life-threatening injury of a team member, death or life-threatening injury in the immediate family of a team member, and extreme weather conditions.
Winners will be notified in person and will be required to complete an affidavit or declaration of eligibility/liability release, a publicity release, and such other documents as may be required by KCAD and The Wege Foundation. Required documents must be signed and received within 7 days of the date printed on the prize notification. Failure to comply or return of any prize notification as undeliverable may result in forfeiture of prize. A parent or guardian of a winner not of the age of majority in his or her state of residence will be required to ratify and sign required documents. Accepting prize money constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winners’ names, educational background (including name of institution and major of study) and/or likenesses for promotional purposes without further notice or monetary compensation.
Rules and regulations subject to change.