Scope:

Participating teams can choose any one from the following problem statements to work on:

 

Security

• How can technology empower women to protect themselves from criminal violence?

In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India, in terms of sexual abuse, assaults etc.  Fear of violence suppresses the aspirations of women.  How can technology empower women to protect themselves better and realize their full potential?

Healthcare

• How can technology empower women to be in better control of their health?

For every maternal death in India, an estimated 20 more women suffer from impaired health.  One village-level study of rural women in Maharashtra determined on the basis of physical examinations that some 92 percent suffered from one or more gynaecological disorder.  How can technology empower women to be in better control of their health?

Education

• How can technology enable easier and cost-effective access to quality education for women?

India has the largest population of non-school-going working girls.  As more and more boys are engaged in education, there is a growing reliance on the labour of girls. The exploitation of young female domestic helpers, for example, is widespread.  How can technology be used to provide easy and low-cost education to women in our country?

• How can technology facilitate codification of traditional knowledge?

There is a wealth of useful traditional knowledge resting with women in India. A lot of this has passed down through the generations, but is now at a risk of being lost.  How can technology facilitate codification of this traditional knowledge?

 

Eligibility Criteria:

This contest is open to female students legally residing in India and meeting the Eligibility Criteria mentioned below:

• You are 16 years of age or older; and
• You are actively enrolled as a student at an accredited educational institution in India that grants high-school or college/university (or equivalent) degrees during the contest period; and
• You are not an employee or intern of Microsoft Corporation or SiliconIndia, or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and
• You are not involved in any part of the execution or administration of this Contest; and
• You are not an immediate family member (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary or SiliconIndia, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest
• A Team may consist of up to four (4) eligible students. It is recommended, but not required, that the Team have one (1) mentor in addition to the student Team members. Limit one (1) mentor per Team. The mentor (if any) should only provide guidance and not contribute directly to the contest submission.

  

Deliverables:

The teams will need to submit two deliverables before the stated deadline:

1) Concept document: 

A report (maximum 4 pages long), submitted as an electronic file in the .doc/.docx format, that incorporates the following information: 

• Your Team Details
• What Problem are you trying to solve?
• What is your proposed Solution to the problem?
• What Microsoft technology is being leveraged?
• Key highlights of your solution.
• Which specific segment of the population will benefit from your solution?
• Estimated impact of your solution

2) Trial Implementation Plan:

A presentation (max. 15 slides) or video (max. 10 minutes), submitted as an electronic file in the .ppt/.pptx/.wmv format, that provides a detailed implementation plan for a trial of the concept:

• Short problem & solution overview:
  • Any data or facts gathered that describe the impact of the problem.
  • What is the solution proposed?
  • Which specific segment of the population will benefit from your solution?
  • Estimated impact of your solution
• Infrastructure/Technology proposed
• Detailed implementation plan:
  • Why a particular technology was selected?
  • How is the technology being used or leveraged?
  • What systems/processes are proposed for practical implementation?
  • What dependencies exist?
  • Estimated cost of a trial implementation.
  • Time-frame for trial implementation

 

Timelines:

The deliverables should be submitted no later than 12th Jan 2010 (11:59 PM IST)

 

Judging criteria:

At the conclusion of the Contest Entry period, all eligible entries received will be reviewed by a panel of qualified judges based on the judging criteria (with percentage weights) set forth below:

• 20%: Problem Definition- How precise and relevant is the real-world problem? How interesting or difficult to resolve - functionally or technically - is the problem? For this criterion, we only focus on the problem, not on the solution proposed to solve this problem.
• 20%: Solution Design- Does the solution impact a large number of people very broadly, or impact a smaller number of people very deeply? To what degree does the proposed solution actually solve the current problem? 
• 20%: Technology Innovation- Is the solution completely innovative or does it rely on an existing concept/technology? How effectively has technology been leveraged in solving the problem?
• 20%: Viability- Is the solution technically and economically viable? Is this solution only theoretical or does it have a realistic implementation potential?
• 20%: Presentation- The judges will be looking for submissions that provide background and context to the project, explain why the solution is an interesting one & highlight how it will work with an implementation plan.

 

Prizes:

• Top 4 teams will each get INR 25,000 to take their project forward.
• Early bird prizes (Virtual Tech Days DVDs) for the first 100 team submissions.