The NIBIB and VentureWell DEBUT Challenge 2024 are now accepting applications. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell are partners in DEBUT, a competition that recognizes student achievement in biomedical design and innovation. DEBUT presents teams of undergraduate biomedical students with the task of solving problems that occur in the real healthcare environment. There is a $145,000 total prize pool, and winners will get rewards up to $20,000. Proficient DEBUT contributions will demonstrate a mastery of analytical and design skills, as well as the ability to oversee the product development process, collaborate well with others, and communicate technical knowledge.

There will be a prototype and ideation score assigned to each team. To calculate the Ideation Score, the importance, effect, and innovative design criteria will all be equally weighted. The prototype score will be determined by assigning equal weights to the following criteria: relevancy, impact, innovative design, and functional prototype. In the end, the team with the better score will win. The winners will be decided by utilizing the final scores.

Brief Details:

• Offered by: The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell
• Deadline: 31 May 2024
• Announcing Date:  August 26, 2024
• Type: Challenge
• Eligible Nations:  An American citizen or permanent resident (Students who are studying in the United States who are neither citizens or permanent residents of the United States are eligible to join the participating Student Teams.)

Prizes:

There will be ten DEBUT awards (including honorable mentions). Here is a list of prize categories and amounts.

• First Prize: The Steven H. Krosnick Award $20,000
• Second Prize: $15,000
• Third Prize: $10,000
• HIV/AIDS Prize: $15,000
• Healthcare Technologies for Low-Resource Settings Prize: $15,000
• Technologies for Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis or Treatment Prize: $15,000
• Rehabilitative and Assistive Technologies Prize: $15,000
• New! Technologies to Empower Nurses in Community Settings Prize: $15,000

Additionally, five Honorable Mentions will receive $1,000 each in awards.
All NIH prize recipients will get training in commercialisation. Prizes offered by VentureWell include:

• Design Excellence prize: $5,000
• Venture prize: $15,000

Eligibilities:

• An individual must be a part of a “Student Team” as defined below in order to be qualified to win a reward under this Challenge. Each member of a “Student Team” must also meet the following requirements.
  • Must be an undergraduate student enrolled full-time in an undergraduate program for at least one full semester of the 2023–2024 school year, or one complete quarter if the institution uses a quarter system.
  • Must establish or join a “Student Team” with at least two other people in order to create an entry to be submitted to this Challenge.
  • Must be an American citizen or permanent resident. Students who are studying in the United States who are neither citizens or permanent residents of the United States are eligible to join the participating Student Teams. If they are a member of a winning Student Team, they won’t get a cash award, though.
  • Must belong to just one Student Team.
  • Must be at least 13 years old. The Parental Consent Form must be filled out by a parent or legal guardian for anybody under the age of 18.
  • Have consented to be registered by the Team Captain (chosen by the Student Team) for the Challenge in accordance with the guidelines established by the NIH and detailed in this notice.
  • Must have fulfilled all the criteria outlined in this notification.
  • May not be a federal agency or an employee of the federal government acting in the course of their job.
  • May not be an individual operating in their own capacity who is a Federal employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or any other division of HHS.
  • Whoever works for a federal agency or organization other than HHS (or any part of HHS) should speak with the agency’s ethics official to find out whether the federal ethics laws would restrict or forbid accepting a prize from this (DEBUT) Challenge.
  • May not be a Challenge judge or a member of that party’s immediate family (spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child) who was involved in the Challenge’s conception, production, execution, or distribution; and
• Each Student Team is required to designate a “Team Captain” to handle all communications pertaining to the Student Team’s participation. The Team Captain must be an American national or lawful permanent resident
• Without the major assistance of any other parties, each submission into this Challenge must have been created, planned, and implemented by the Student Team.
• Only if the same team hasn’t previously won any awards may entries that have previously been submitted to the DEBUT Challenge be submitted again.
• Students or student teams that have previously won DEBUT awards are eligible to enter the Challenge again, but they may not submit the same submission that was awarded a prize in a prior DEBUT Challenge.
• Federal grantees are not permitted to utilize federal funding to produce or promote their Challenge submissions in any way.
• Federal contractors are not permitted to utilize revenues from contracts with the federal government to create Challenge entries or to support such submissions.
• Submissions must not violate any third-party rights, including copyrights.
• For any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, resulting from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise, each individual agrees to assume all risks and waive claims against the Federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct.
• No person participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or show financial responsibility, based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it may require, and an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss that may result from Challenge participation.

How to Apply?

• Only one entry per Student Team may be made via the Team Captain for this assignment. In order to verify that the submission complies with all Challenge requirements and to submit the Student Team’s entry on their behalf, the Team Captain must first register using the apply now button below and then follow the links and procedures. Teams will now have the opportunity to specify whether they want VentureWell-sponsored award consideration for their entries.
• Each entry must adhere to Section 508 requirements, which demand that electronic and information technology used by federal agencies be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
• A single PDF file containing all 4 of the following elements must be supplied for each entry:
  • The NIBIB DEBUT Challenge Certification Form, filled out with the project title, team members’ printed names, proof of citizenship or permanent residency in the United States, dates, and signatures of each student team member.
  • Project Narrative (no more than 6 pages, Arial, with a minimum font size of 11 points).
  • Letter of support.
    Complete Form of Parental Consent.

Note: before applying check the guidlines here.

Apply Now

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For more information, kindly refer to VentureWell’s website.