Solve It!
All teams agree to attend and present at Penn State Greater Allegheny’s campus, 4000 University Drive, McKeesport, PA, on March 15, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Presentation set-up will be at 8:30–8:45 a.m. Students will attend an opening session with Covestro engineers and Penn State Greater Allegheny faculty. Each team will have a room in which they can practice before presenting to the judging panel. Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony, after lunch.
Team Requirements:
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Each team must consist of 3 to 4 high school students.
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Only team members can present—teachers and advisors may attend the competition but cannot present or advise once the competition begins.
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Only team members should develop the materials and presentation, not teachers, parents or advisors.
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Campaigns and presentations should not include information that is offensive or derogatory toward any organization, race, sex, or country.
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All digital materials must be submitted via email to solve-it@psu.edu by March 12 by 9:00 a.m. Physical materials such as posters can be brought on the morning of the event.
Your 4-minute pitch should include and will be judged on the following elements:
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Knowledge of the issue: Teams are encouraged to use, but not limited to, the materials provided on the Solve It! website.
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Presentation quality: Demonstrates teamwork and audience engagement.
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Clarity and creativity of solution: A unique and viable solution is presented that addresses the challenge and reaches the target audience.
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Persuasive plan: This could include any or all of the following: slide presentation, PSA (public service announcement), sample social media posts, posters, dramatic or musical performance, demonstration that can be used to convince others to get behind their idea .
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Social and Global Impact: Covestro is committed to sustainability. The proposed solution considers at least one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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A Team ID, assigned to you by Penn State Greater Allegheny, and your participant names should be presented at the start and end of the presentation.
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No school names, affiliations/logos may appear in the presentation.
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Each team will submit a one (1) page document listing the references and resources used by the team for their presentation.
Deadlines and Details:
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Teams should ensure functionality of embedded images, animations, videos, and/or audio files upon submission of the digital content on March 12. Submit the content to Solve-It@psu.edu.
Presentation Process:
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The judges will provide a brief overview of the process and then signal that the team may begin presenting, upon which the four-minute timing process will begin.
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A timekeeper will indicate time at the three-minute mark, so teams must be complete by that time.
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A short Question and Answer period will follow the formal presentation.
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Students may not seek judges' feedback or assistance until the competition is completed.
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A recording of each presentation will be made by Penn State and shared with teams upon request. All other recording will be prohibited.
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The top three scores will result in the first, second and third place winners of Solve It!
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Competition questions should be directed to Penn State Greater Allegheny for clarification of any of these competition details at Solve-It@psu.edu
Judging Procedures:
The judging will be rated using the following rubric.
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Presentation |
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Demonstrates understanding of problem |
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Well Prepared and Organized
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Visuals were Supporting
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Engages judges/audience |
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Content |
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Evidence of incorporating reference materials |
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Solution is well-defined and clear
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Has a plan to reach users/customers
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Solution is Viable and Unique
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Addressed Potential Obstacles
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Solution has a Sustainable and Social Impact |
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