Wege Prize 2020 International Student Design Competition

Published: 25 Oct 2019 1,431 views

Applications for the 2020 Wege Prize international student design competition are currently being invited from the Wege Prize. This year; the problem to be solved shall be 

'How can we create a circular economy?'

Individuals and team are encouraged to apply.

Wege Prize teams must leverage their transdisciplinary makeup to collaboratively design and propose a solution to a wicked problem of their choosing that can, in turn, help solve the wicked problem of transitioning from a linear economic model to a circular economic model. Possible solutions include, but are not limited to:

1. Products
2. Services
3. Businesses or non-profit organizations

Over the course of nine months and four distinct phases, Wege Prize teams will grow their ideas from an informal research plan into a fully-developed solution that can be prototyped and tested in the real world. Guided by direct feedback from competition judges, teams will work to rethink and redesign the way economies work by creating regenerative solutions that have a widespread and lasting positive impact.

Wege Prize Design Competition

Application Deadline	June 15, 2020
Funding Type	Fully Funded
Type	Entrepreneurs
Sponsor	Wege Prize
Gender	Men and Women

Benefits of Wege Prize Design Competition

Winning teams will split the following awards evenly between their five members:

1. First Place: $15,000USD
2. Second Place: $10,000USD
3. Third Place: $5,000USD

Requirements for Wege Prize Design Competition

Individual Participation Requirements

To be eligible to participate on a Wege Prize 2020 , you must:

1. Attend a college, university, or equivalent institution of higher education anywhere in the world
2. Be a student enrolled in a full-time (or equivalent) undergraduate or graduate program for the duration of the competition

Both undergraduate and graduate level students are eligible to compete. Teams can be composed of both undergraduate and graduate students if they so choose. 

Team Participation Requirements

To be eligible to participate in Wege Prize 2020, teams must:

1. Have exactly five members
2. Represent at least three (3) different academic disciplines*
3. 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.

Selection Process

Wege Prize judges are looking for solutions that address the shortcomings of a linear economic model on a systemic level. The most successful solutions will:

1. Think in systems by demonstrating an understanding of how parts influence one another within a whole, as well as the relationship of the whole to the parts.
2. Consider the economics and viability of the solution within natural, social, and financial systems.
3. Preserve and enhance natural capital by controlling finite resource stocks and balancing renewable resource flows.
4. Optimize resource yields by circulating products, components, and materials at their highest utility at all times in both technical and biological cycles.
5. Foster system effectiveness by designing out waste and negative externalities such as pollution, toxicity, and climate change.

Application Deadline

June 15, 2020

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Wege Prize on www.wegeprize.org to apply