CMD-IT Innovation Solutions CHALLENGE - Official Rules
By entering this Challenge, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS CONTEST. THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE RESTRICTED OR PROHIBITED BY LAW. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO AND ITS OTHER TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS).
I. SPONSOR
This Challenge is sponsored by CMD-IT organization, with an address at 1244 State St, Suite 360, Lemont, IL 60439, U.S.A. (hereinafter “CMD-IT” or “Sponsor”).
II. ELIGIBILITY
You must be a resident of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO AND ITS OTHER TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS) and eighteen (18) years of age or older to be eligible to participate in this Challenge. This Challenge is open to individuals or teams (max 5) only. Employees of Sponsor and professional advisors connected with this Challenge, as well as members of their immediate families and/or households, are NOT eligible to enter.
III. THE CHALLENGE
This Challenge involves the following challenge: The entrants must submit a solutions project. The Challenge will be hosted on a 3rd party platform - https://challengerocket.com/c/cmdit.
Entrants must perform the following requirements of the Challenge as follows:
- Register for the challenge.
- Sign up to the CMD-IT Challenge Program
- Assemble your team or apply solo.
- Fill out the application form.
- Create an AI/Chatbot project.
- Submit your project by the submission deadline of March 31, 2021.
Finalists from all submissions will be chosen to continue refining their projects/prototypes and will be invited to present at the 2021 Tapia conference to present their working solution in front of the CMD-IT judges.
III. Eligibility
Students, Faculty, Researchers, Industry Professionals and Techies are all Welcomed!
- You must have a team of 3-5 people. At minimum 3 members on your team, but no more than 5 members.
- We encourage diverse teams that foster innovative thinking and ideas. CMD-IT supports 4 target groups: Black/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native American/Indigenous and People with Disabilities. Be inclusive.
- Include team members from another school, or another company or from a different background.
IV. FORM YOUR TEAM
What does a team look like?
These are not actual teams, but just examples of making your teams diverse and inclusive. Be sure to invite those that may offer more insights into not only the technology, but application of how chatbots are used in various capacities.
- Junior (3rd year) Cybersecurity major, Software Engineer, Marketing Analyst, Program Manager.
- First year Computer Science student, Data Scientist, Analyst from Government agency, PhD student.
- Master's graduate student, Community Manager, Open Source Developer/Contributor
- Senior Computer Information student, Engineer at a Startup, Customer Service Representative, Product Manager, Sales Engineer
CMD-IT's mission is to increase the tech workforce with diverse technical talent. Our four targeted groups are Black/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans and People with Disabilities. Your team should be a diverse representation that includes students and professionals from our target groups. Please join our CMD-IT community to find collaborators and engage with other technical professionals.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Entrants will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Use of Computing Technologies used to approach solution (e.g. AI/ML, cloud computing, blockchain, etc.);
- Quality of the idea (How cool and creative is your concept?);
- Quality of work (How well was your idea executed and how well does it leverage technology);
- Design of the project (How visually and aesthetically robust is your project? Is your design inclusive for hearing and visual impaired);
- Functionality of the project (How does your work perform?);
- Impact and scalability (Can the solution change the world?).
V. PRIZES; ODDS OF WINNING
The prizes of this Challenge are as follows:
- Grand Prize: Tapia 2021 conference passes for all members, Travel round trip to host city of conference for all members, lodging 4 night stay for all members, meals throughout the conference, dedicated session to present your solution total value of $15,000 USD;
- 2ND place prize: Tapia 2021 conference passes for all members total value of $4,000 USD;
- 3RD place prize: AI Developer Kit for each member total value of $1,500 USD;
- Honorable mention prize(s): CMD-IT gift package delivered to each member total value $800;
- Community Voters Choice award: Amazon Gift cards $100 each total value $500 electronically delivered.
In addition to the prizes mentioned above, some finalists will be invited to Tapia 2021 to present their working solution to the CMD-IT judges.
It is possible for one (1) winner to receive two (2) or more prizes if they meet the winner requirements as aforementioned in section 3. The prizes are not assignable or transferable. Brand and model of prizes are subject to change by CMD-IT at any time for any reason and substitutions will be of equal or greater value. CMD-IT is not responsible or liable for the distribution of any prizes once they are shipped to the winner. The prizes offered, and the entrants that are successful, are not distinguishable by country and do not hold any bias and are equally attainable for all participating countries and their entrants. THIS CONTEST HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN OFFERED. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
VI. ENTRY PERIOD
The entry period for this Challenge begins at 12pm CT on Januar 1, 2021 and ends at 11:59pm HT on March 31, 2021 (hereinafter the “Entry Period”). Following the entry period, finalists will be chosen to continue refining their projects and invited (all members of the team) to the 2021 Tapia conference to present.
VII. CHALLENGE TIMELINE
- October 1, 2020 – Application opens;
- January 1, 2021 – Challenge Begins;
- March 31, 2021 – Challenge Ends;
- April 1-15, 2021 – Review and Community Voting Period;
- April 1-30, 2021 – Review and Judging Period;
- May 1, 2021 – Finalists and Community Voters Choice Announced;
- May 1, 2021 – Finalists and Judges Voters Choice Announced;
- September 2021 – Winners Acknowledge at Tapia 2021 Conference.
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
VIII. WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT; CLAIMING AND AWARDING OF PRIZE
The winners of the Grand Prize Bundle and 2nd Prize Bundle will be announced on the Challenge Winners page and on or about May 1, 2020. Within 7 days following such an announcement, all winners, including 3rd place, honorable mention, and Community Voters Choice if announced on the CMD-IT website, will be notified by CMD-IT via email or by the contest platform Challenge Rocket. Challenge Rocket bears payout of monetary prizes to the winners. To claim the prize, the winner must do the following within 30 days from the date of CMD-IT’s notification:
- confirm receipt of the notice by email (which confirmation must be sent from the same email address to which the notice was sent);
- and complete, sign and return a winner release form (as provided by CMD-IT along with its email notice) and such other requisite documentation (if any) listed in CMD-IT’s email notice.
Within 21 days following its receipt of the Required Winner Documents from the winner, CMD-IT will prepare a prize for all team members at CMD-IT’s expense, along with a certificate to the winner’s mailing address specified in his/her winning entry. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if CMD-IT determines that the Required Winner Documents as returned by the winner are incomplete, erroneous, or otherwise not in order, CMD-IT may require the winner to provide complete or replacement documentation prior to shipment of prize. Digital prizes will be electronically emailed to the email address supplied as part of their contest submission.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL ENTRANTS: If a winner cannot be contacted or fails to claim the prize or to return the Required Winner Documents within the specified time period, or if the prize is returned as undeliverable, or if a winner fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Official Rules, such winner will be considered to have forfeited the prize. In such a case, the prize will be awarded to the individual who submitted the next best entry as previously determined by CMD-IT.
IX. TAXES
The winner of this Challenge is solely responsible for any and all applicable taxes and government charges that result from his/her receipt and/or use of the prize. Sponsor reserves the right to withhold and deduct such taxes and charges from the prize if and to the extent required by law.
X. AGREEMENTS BY ENTRANT
1. By entering this Challenge, each entrant agrees and acknowledges that Sponsor and Sponsor Related Parties shall not be responsible or liable for: (i) any late, lost, stolen, forged, mutilated, corrupted, incomplete, illegible or misdirected entries; (ii) any errors, omissions, misinformation, or misidentification in an entry; (iii) any dispute or claim arising from an entrant’s participation in this Challenge or his/her entry, or his/her receipt, ownership or use of the prize; (iv) any computer hardware, software, Internet, network, cable, phone, or other communication or technical errors, failures, malfunctions, interruptions, or delays; or (v) any damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer hardware, software or data that results from participation in this Challenge or accessing, downloading or using any tools, files, data, software, or other articles or materials in connection with this Challenge.
2. By entering this Challenge, each entrant agrees and consents to Sponsor’s collection, use and retention of his/her personal information for all purposes related to this Challenge (including, without limitation, processing and administering entries, sharing an entrant’s personal information with Sponsor Related Parties as necessary to conduct and operate this Challenge, communicating with and awarding the prize to the winner, making public announcements about the winner, and advertising, promoting and publicizing this Challenge).
3. By entering this Challenge each entrant understands and consents that Sponsor, anyone acting on behalf of Sponsor, or its respective licensees, successors and assigns will have the right, where permitted by law, without any further notice, review or consent to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter in perpetuity and throughout the World, the entry, including, without limitation, the entry and entrant's name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image or statements about the Challenge, and biographical information as news, publicity or information and for trade, advertising, public relations and promotional purposes without any further compensation. If an entrant is a minor in his/her state of residence, a parent or guardian may be required to sign a Publicity Release on his/her behalf.
4. ANY ENTRY THAT IS IN BREACH OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OR IS OTHERWISE IN VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WILL BE DEEMED VOID AND AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THIS CONTEST.
XI. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS BY SPONSOR
Sponsor reserves the right, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to terminate, cancel, modify, or suspend this Challenge, in whole or in part, if fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity of this Challenge as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. If this Challenge or any website associated therewith (or any portion thereof) becomes corrupted or otherwise does not permit entry, or if infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, actions by entrants, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper operation of this Challenge, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by applicable law, to disqualify any individual implicated in such action, and/or to cancel, terminate, cancel, modify or suspend this Challenge, in whole or in part. Any attempt by an entrant or any other individual to deliberately damage any online service or web site or undermine the legitimate operation of this Challenge is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and/or other remedies from any such person to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. In addition, Sponsor reserves the right to take down and remove any entry that becomes subject to a third-party claim for copyright infringement or for violation of any other right.
XII. GOVERNING LAW; JURISDICTION
These Official Rules are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, U.S.A., without giving effect to its conflicts of law rules. Each entrant hereby submits himself or herself to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
XIII. CONTEST INFORMATION
The sponsor of this promotion is CMD-IT organization. The number of entries and winners will be posted at https://challengerocket.com/innovation-solutions-challenge and CMD-IT after 4/01/2021.