Level: Grades 9-12. Registration: Sept. 1 – Dec. 1 2010.

The National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC) is an annual design competition in which students in grades 9-12 put their creativity and problem-solving skills to use and create a workplace  technology device for a person with a disability. In this cross-curricular competition, students discover engineering through real-world applications that impact people in their community and change lives.

Starting in September, student teams from across the country vie for the chance to advance through three rounds of competition. All teams conduct research, identify a workplace problem they want to solve, and design their device. Then, selected winning teams progress to creating a video demonstration in hopes of attending the National Finals.

In February, the top five winning teams win a trip to Washington, DC for the National Finals, where they’ll present and defend their device design in front of a panel of judges. National Finalist teams compete to receive prizes including cash scholarships, medals and trophies, and other special awards as well as the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Excite Award.

IMPORTANT DATES

Registration Opens: September 1

Round I (13 weeks): September 1 – December 1

Submission Due: December 1

Semi-finalists Announced: December 8

Round II (6 weeks): December 8 – January 17

Submission Due: January 17

Virtual Semi-finals Showcase: January 19

National Finalists Announced: January 21

Round III (4 weeks): January 21 – February 17

National Finals: February 17-18

See the NEDC Program Guidelines (.pdf) for more details.

Filed under: Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs

Tags: Competition, Competitions for Students, Contest, Engineering Design