Student Programs

Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions govern your participation in the MATLAB and Simulink Project Hub — Sustainability and Renewable Energy Challenge (the “Challenge”), sponsored by The MathWorks, Inc. (“MathWorks”), 3 Apple Hill Drive, Natick, Massachusetts 01760-2098.

How to Participate

  • Choose a project from the Sustainability and Renewable Energy technology trends list on the challenge projects hub.
  • Complete the project sign-up form accessible from the project’s description page. If you already signed up for a project from the list, you can still participate by providing a solution within the submission deadline.
  • Upload your solution into a GitHub repository and share the link to the repository via the project submission form, which is also accessible from the project description page. Check the box indicating you agree with our terms and conditions.
  • Submit your solution by January 3, 2025.

Challenge Rules

  • The Challenge is open to all students, researchers, and engineers who are at least 18 years old and have an interest in renewable energy.
  • Participants may work individually or in teams. If entering as a team, each team should designate only one representative per entry who will receive the prize should that team win.
  • MathWorks employees are not eligible to participate.
  • Participants are required to submit a solution to one of the projects belonging to the Sustainability and Renewable Energy technology trends list on the challenge projects hub.
  • Solutions must be submitted via a GitHub repository under a 2-clause BSD or MIT license. The license must be included in the repository’s license file along with any relevant attribution and copyright notices. Information regarding the solution and how to use it should be included in the README.md file of the repository, with appropriate hyperlinks.
  • Submissions must be in English and must be received by January 3, 2025.
  • Teams can enter, but each team should designate only one representative per entry who will receive the prize should that team win.
  • Participation is free.

Judging

All entries will be judged by MathWorks engineers on a 100-point scale using these criteria:

  • Real-world applicability of the approach adopted (25 points maximum)
  • Novelty (25 points maximum)
  • Quality of the code, models, and documentation (25 points maximum)
  • Depth of the solution (25 points maximum)

Participants are also encouraged to submit a YouTube video tutorial about their solution to earn extra points.

If two or more solutions receive the same score, the tiebreaker will be decided by the following criteria, in the order given: the difficulty of the project chosen, the quality of instructions provided, and the inclusion of a YouTube video tutorial in the submission.

The top three winners will be notified via email and announced on the Challenge page(s). The top three winners will receive prizes as follows:

  • First place: $1,000 (USD)
  • Second place: $500 (USD)
  • Third place: $300 (USD)

Any other working submissions that meet the requirements specified in the project description will be eligible for the standard submission rewards.

Decisions by the judges will be final.

The names of the winning teams and their team members, along with their affiliation, may be announced on the websites and/or via the social media accounts (which may include without limitation Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn) of MathWorks and/or its affiliates.

General

One team member may submit the registration form on behalf of the team. By doing so, such team member represents and warrants that they have been authorized by each of their other team members to agree to these Challenge terms and conditions, including without limitation any rights granted to MathWorks and any obligations required to be undertaken on their behalf. No more than one prize will be awarded per team and the team member who submits the registration form on behalf of the team is responsible for distributing the prize, if applicable, among other team members as appropriate.

MathWorks reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or terminate this Challenge for any reason, including in the event of any act or occurrence that it believes would corrupt the integrity, administration, or fairness of the Challenge. MathWorks is not responsible for lost, late, stolen, incomplete, illegible, inaccurate, undelivered, delayed, or misdirected entries. By participating in the Challenge, you agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless MathWorks, its respective affiliates, and any individuals engaged in the development or execution of this Challenge from any liability, claims, losses, and damages arising out of or related to your participation in this Challenge or the acceptance, use, misuse, or possession of any prize received in this Challenge. All taxes, fees, and surcharges on the prizes won are the sole responsibility of the winner(s).

MathWorks collects personal information from you when you enter the Challenge. The information collected is subject to the MathWorks Privacy Policy. Should you be selected as a winner, you hereby authorize MathWorks to identify you as the winner of the contest on websites owned by or affiliated with MathWorks and/or its affiliates, as well as certain third-party websites and/or applications.

You warrant and represent that: (1) you are eighteen (18) years of age or older; (2) you have complied with all applicable terms, conditions, and guidelines of GitHub and any other relevant third-party site, applications, or code sources, as may be relevant, regarding your submission; (3) you have the full right, power, and authority to grant these rights and permissions; and (4) your submission is a) original; b) solely owned by you so that no other party has any rights or interest in the submission, whether known or unknown; and c) does not violate the intellectual property, common law, or any other rights of any third parties. MathWorks disclaims any and all liability arising out of or related to your submission. You agree that these terms constitute the entire agreement between you and MathWorks and supersede all prior communications and/or understandings, whether written or oral, pertaining hereto.

You agree that these terms will be governed by and construed under and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You hereby consent and agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with any lawsuit, action, or proceeding arising out of or related to these terms and/or the contest. This contest is void where prohibited. Proof of purchase is not required, and purchase will not improve your chances of winning.