1999-2000 DuPont Imagineering Competition

Rules
DuPont is organising a European Imagineering competition from September 1999 through June 2000. The purpose is to promote the use of Engineering Polymers in the design of mass-produced commercial and industrial applications. Design students (and those who have graduated from 1996 included) are invited to use their initiative and creativity to demonstrate how engineering polymers can provide aesthetic and cost effective solutions for everyday living.
This competition will be organised in two phases:
· September 1999 – June 2000: National
· September 2000: European
The winner of each national competition will go forward to the European final.
The competition organiser is DuPont (U.K) Limited.
The competition secretary is Business Link (Essex) Limited .
See appendix 1 for addresses, email addresses, telephone and fax numbers.

Preambule
DuPont is a multi-national leader in polymer materials and renowned for its extensive Research and Development facilities. Its product range includes some of the best known brands, e.g. nylon, Lycra®, Teflon® and Kevlar®.
DuPont materials are present in a multitude of products: automobile, electronics, clothing, domestic electrical appliances, furniture, aeronautics, electrical equipment, packaging, agriculture, construction, power production, sport and leisure, graphical industries, etc…
Engineering Polymers, due to their physical, mechanical and thermal properties, are designed for high performance in demanding environments.
They include acetal resins, polyamide resins, polyesters and polyester elastomers in numerous compositions or grades. The trademarks are: Crastin® PBT and Rynite® PET thermoplastic polyester resins, Delrin® acetal homopolymer resins, Hytrel® thermoplastic polyester elastomer, Minlon® mineral reinforced nylon resins, Tynex® filaments, Vespel® polyimide parts, Zenite® liquid crystal polymers and Zytel® nylon resins.

3
Article 1: Participants
The competition is open :
· to students officially enrolled for the university year 1999-2000 in the faculties of design, industrial design or engineering in a college, school or university.
· to designers, design engineers, engineers, graduated from 1996 included.
· In all cases the entrants must be resident in the country or region (France, Iberia, Germany, Italy or UK) where the national competition is being held.
The participants must provide, with their registration, a certificate of enrolment in one of the aforementioned establishments for the current university year or a certified copy of their diploma or qualification.
Employees of Du Pont de Nemours and their families are not allowed to enter the competition.
Participation in the competition may be as an individual or as part of a team (Article 11). Entrants are encouraged to collaborate with an industrial company.
To this end, the competition secretary will be pleased to help individuals who wish to find an industrial partner.
A participant, whether acting individually or as part of a team, can only submit one project.

Article 2: Dates
Pre-registration forms are available in design colleges and universities and on the Internet at http://www.dupont-imagineering.com
They can also be obtained by post or by telephone from the competition secretary listed in annex 1.
Completed registration forms must be returned to the competition secretary no later than 31 March, 2000.
Entries, with or without a model or mock-up must be received by the Competition Organiser (DuPont, Hemel Hempstead) on or before 15 June, 2000 or sent by mail with sufficient postage paid (do not send by registered mail). The postmark will be taken as the date of posting, which must not be later than 12 June, 2000.

Article 3: Type of projects
Entries must reflect original creative ideas and be capable of being mass-produced. The main component, or one or more of its essential parts, must make use of, or incorporate, injection moulded materials, as defined in the preamble to these rules.
Entries should enhance the special characteristics of engineering polymers used in the project. Entries can comprise a 3D prototype or mock-up, or a file of sketches and detailed technical drawings. In all cases, they must be accompanied by a technical description detailing the object and explaining the reasons for the choice of materials.

Article 4: Theme The theme of the competition is:
"Personal Safety and Care" (Automotive applications are excluded). The theme is deliberately drawn very widely, thus leaving the maximum amount of liberty for participants to use their initiative. On the other hand, this may cause some entrants a feeling of uncertainty. The following words or phases may be relevant and useful in formulating your entry:
· Personal safety, fitness, personal care, injury prevention, health improvement, sports, leisure, at home or at work, young, middle aged and senior citizens In case of doubt, participants are encouraged to contact the competition organisers before any substantial work is started (cf. Article 2).
DuPont engineering polymers can play an important and innovative role in "Personal Safety and Care" products. They have excellent technical and artistic attributes, can be used to reduce the number of parts, increase performance and contribute to better environmental standards. Above all, they open the way to entirely new products and applications for increasing the quality of life.
Entries must embrace safety and security, take account of industrial production costs and thus have real commercial possibilities.

Article 5: Selection criteria
Entries will be judged according to the following criteria:
· Good use of technical polymer properties
· Innovation
· Functionality and feasibility
· Marketing potential
· Design and aesthetics
· Presentation of the project (drawings, 3D prototype…)
· Quality of the technical description

Article 6: Jury
The competition jury includes designers, representatives from industry and personalities in the field of design.
A technical committee will examine entries for conformity with these rules.
The decision of the jury is final.

Article 7: Prizes
DuPont will present the winner of the national competition with a prize of  Euro 5,000, the runner-up with Euro 3,000 and Euro 2,000 for third place.
The results of the national competitions will be announced before 30 September, 2000.
There will be only one winner of the European competition who will receive a further Euro 5,000.

Article 8: Conditions for enrolment
Participation in the DuPont Imagineering competition is free.
To participate, interested parties must apply to one of the competition registration offices at one of the addresses given in annex 1. They may also apply on the Imagineering website : http://www.dupont-imagineering.com
An application pack and these rules will be sent by return. The registration form must be returned duly completed to the competition secretary by the dates indicated in article 2 and before the delivery or dispatch of the entry. No project will be considered unless the competition secretary has recorded the registration.
An acknowledgement of receipt confirming participation will be sent to all correctly enrolled candidates. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their entry conforms to the competition requirements.
DuPont will provide registered participants with a pack, including a CD Rom. Only one per participant will be provided.
Additional technical information may be supplied on request to participants concerning materials to be used in the project.

Article 9: Organisation of the European competition
The National competitions will be organised from September 1999 to June 2000 in the following countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain/Portugal, United Kingdom.
The winner of each national competition will go forward to the European final.
National winners’ projects will go forward to the European competition organised by DuPont de Nemours International S.A Geneva. The same conditions apply to the European level as at the National level.
European winner will be announced in September 2000.

Article 10: Project content
Entries must contain:
· a full technical description, indicating the functional characteristics of the object or device and the materials employed (operating principle, assembly, method of manufacture, surface aspect, usage constraints, resistance to shock, wear or chemicals, etc…).
· written reasons for the choice of materials.
The projects presented by candidates may also contain:
· a 3D prototype or mock-up (properly packed) or a graphical representation of the overall object proposed.
· sketches or detailed drawings, with measured front, side and top views of the object and its sub-assemblies (not more than 4 A3 boards).
The prototypes and mock-ups can be made in wood, plaster, cardboard, plastic or any other material chosen by the candidate.
All written documentation must be typewritten (double space) and not longer than 5 A4 sheets.

Article 11 : Acceptance of entry projects
Entries must be sent to the competition organiser as specified in article 2.
Incomplete entries, as defined in article 9, and those not complying with  the rules of the competition, will not be accepted.
Submission of a registration form by the participant implies unreserved acceptance of the competition rules and the decisions of the jury. The competition organisers shall bear the project storage and transportation costs from the date of receipt until the date of the return to participants.
DuPont will in no case be held responsible for any loss or damage to entry projects. It is recommended that entrants take out insurance for loss or damage.
Participants not selected by the technical committee will be informed by a letter to collect their projects after the selection meeting. The projects that are selected but non awarded may be exhibited for the announcement of the results. Consequently the participants will be informed by letter about the collection of their project.
Any removal costs shall be borne by the candidate. The organisers reserve  the right not to store uncollected documents and mock-ups 30 days after the above-mentioned date and to proceed with their destruction.

Article 12: Team projects
Participation in the competition may be individual or by team. Teams must not have more than 3 members. Team participation is encouraged, especially where this allows design and engineering students or technicians to be associated in the same team.
Team members may be enrolled in different establishments, but all must satisfy, individually, the conditions for participating in this competition. The entry must indicate the names of all the candidates making  up a team.
The team must name one of their number to represent the team in dealings with the competition secretary. If the team is awarded a prize, the names of each of the team members will be mentioned in the list of prizewinners.
The prizes designated in article 7 will be presented to the above member unless the team specifies otherwise.

Article 13: Projects with industrial companies
The project may be developed in co-operation with a company. This is especially encouraged, in particular where it might result in the commercialisation of the project.
In such a case, the designer and the company should complete an agreement prior to the competition, which clearly specifies the conditions for the development of the project.

Article 14: Responsibility of the organisers
The organisers reserve the right to shorten, suspend, defer, modify or cancel this competition for whatever reason. They agree to inform the participants of any changes, but can in no way be held responsible for any loss.

Article 15: Ownership of the projects
Entrants retain ownership of projects entered in the competition and all  rights under English Law relating to intellectual and artistic copyright.
All participants must understand their relevant intellectual property rights before disclosing any information.

Article 16: Promotion
The organisers reserve the right to use entry projects, mock-ups or drawings and the identity of the prize winner(s) for non-commercial advertising, training or communication purposes.
The organisers may also refer to such projects in the media and information brochures and display them at any public exhibitions of their choice, without restriction on duration. The organisers may take photographs of the prizewinners and their projects, and make copies of the latter, provided due mention is made of the winners’ name.

Article 17: Interpretation
The interpretation of these rules remains exclusive right of the organisers.
Annex 1
Address of the national registration office:
Competition Secretary:
Business Link Essex
Redwing House, Hedgerows Business Park,
Colchester Road, Chelmsford CM2 5PB.
Tel: 0845 717 16 15
Fax: 01245 39 38 37
Competition Sponsor and Organiser:
John Hockey
DuPont (UK) Ltd, Maylands Avenue
Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 7DP
Tel: 01442 218 500
Fax: 01442 218 646