Final days for entries to the EDP 2016 University Challenge
National Contest, with the theme "Safety at the electricity grids - Life comes first", which will award university students up to R$ 16,000.
University students from all over Brazil can enroll until September 6 in the EDP University Challenge Contest held by EDP Brasil, a company that operates in the areas of energy generation, distribution, marketing and solutions. To participate, students must fill in the application form on the site of the Company and submit the project before November 22.
In order to stimulate students to put their theoretical knowledge into practice in the corporate world, the young students will be challenged to propose marketing and communication initiatives under the theme "Safety at the electricity grids - Life always comes first". The theme is extremely important for the electric sector - between 2001 and 2014 on average 910 people were injured per year in Brazil due to incidents with the grid according to the Brazilian Association of Energy Distributors (Abradee).
In its seventh year, the EDP University Challenge is aimed at undergraduate or graduate students in the areas of Management, Strategy, Marketing, Communication and Design. Candidates from other courses who demonstrate enough knowledge in the areas pertaining to the awards may also participate in the contest, which aims to promote the best initiatives on the risk of accidents involving the electricity grid and how to prevent such incidents.
In the previous year contest, the Trupa dos Sinais team made up of students from the Faculty of Technology of Guaratinguet‡ (FATEC) won the competition with a plan for the creation of a theater course in public schools aiming at the inclusion of people with hearing impairments. The project includes the use of the Brazilian sign language (libras) and addresses issues such as efficient energy consumption and the preservation of natural resources. The students proposing the winning project received a prize of R$ 16,000, and their advising teacher won, R$ 8,000.
The dynamics of the contest
To compete, EDP University Challenge participants must organize themselves into groups of two to five members, and there is no need to study in the same educational institution. It is recommended to have an advising teacher, although this is not a prerequisite.
The contest has two enrollment periods, one in the first semester, which ended on April 26 and another in the second semester, closing on September 6. Each group compete against all others, and the 10 best projects will be selected by a consultant to proceed to the final stage. The evaluation will take into account a number of criteria including the project creativity, innovation and sustainability.
The award ceremony for the winning team of the 2016 EDP University Challenge will take place in the first semester of 2017. At this occasion, the team and advisor will be awarded, respectively, with R$ 16,000 and R$ 8,000. The runners up will receive R$ 8,000 while their advising teacher wins R$4,000.
More information on the application process, as well as the regulations, are available at the website:
http://www.edp.com.br/pesquisadores-estudantes/edp-university-challenge
