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Student competitions are crucial in encouraging performance. Going further than what regular grades can achieve, these ensure a massive boost of motivation for those following an academic path. The rewards are multiple. First off, there are the measurable things. These are usually cash or other objects offered as a prize.

Then there’s the engagement itself that is more rewarding. Students are easily motivated when they have the opportunity to compare their skills directly against others. Competitions are generally designed for increased excitement compared to regular courses, meaning that even those not typically interested in grades will be more stimulated. Before anything, let’s look at the basics in our special guide.

How do these competitions work?

College competitions, the ones we are covering here, are events where individuals or teams compete for a prize using their academic skills. These competitions range from the smallest size, at a classroom level, to a massive international scale where sponsors offer extremely attractive prizes to those managing to pass challenging tasks within the rules.

There are different types of competitions:

1. Essays

Writing on a chosen topic, according to the rules set by the organizers. Subjects are sometimes chosen beforehand, while other times they are left to the participant’s decision. Remember that you can use help of top online services for writing.

2. Debates

Debates usually start from a statement or proposition that teams will have to express their stance on and argue to support it in a convincing, logical manner.

3. Case studies

The goal is to solve a real or fictional case using a limited amount of information provided. A logic competition, in other words.

4. Business plan

An entrepreneurship competition where teams or individuals need to come up with a business plan for an existing or fictional business.

5. Design competition

This is a type of competition that aims to provide students with opportunities for practical engineering. These competitions will usually require that students build a machine which will serve the task demanded by the organizers. The process is meant to teach them how to plan, how to manage their time and work in a team (they are most commonly addressed to teams).

6. Simulation

A decision-making competition where an environment is given (a virtual one), allowing students to act towards reaching a precise goal. These types of competitions do not require locations and can be often held online.

7. Ideation

A competition that tests creativity. The main thing tested are ideas starting from a set of rules provided by the organizer. Seeing how physical deliverables are not needed, most of the time it is enough to have a text clearly explaining your idea.

8. Various skills

These can be math, programming, physics, languages or many other academic skills that can be judged using specialized tests.

Who organizes them?

Seeing how the size of these competitions vary greatly, so do the organizers. For those at a local level, teachers and even some students can handle the organization. Higher levels are usually financed by sponsors, therefore leading to a bigger scale and more professional conditions.  

As for the sponsors, they can be some of the biggest in the world. For example, NASA is very well known for the engineering competitions it provides for the students. The generous prizes and media cover they receive play a huge part in the popularization of science among those on an academic path.

Where competitions for college students be found?

You may receive information from teachers regarding some competitions, but there are also websites dedicated to bigger, sponsored competitions. An excellent one is studentcompetitions.com.

If you want to go local, teachers and other universities that could be involved are the best bet when it comes to information.

Why are these competitions important?

Undergraduate competitions are an excellent way of motivating the hunger for knowledge and rewarding it appropriately when it translates into practical results. It is an exciting way of stimulating the students’ desire to learn past anything that can be done at a classroom level.

It is a way of evaluating their skills compared to many others, in an environment built for that very purpose. It is a source of material, emotional and intellectual reward; a practice that we need to keep up if we want intelligence to be promoted and recognized.