Collegiate Inventors Competition
Scholarship Sponsored by National Inventors Hall of Fame
Overview
The Collegiate Inventors Competition, administered by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, is a nationwide contest that honors and rewards original innovations, discoveries and research created by college and university students together with their faculty advisers. Launched in 1990, the program aims to encourage students across all disciplines to pursue inventive activity.
Eligible submissions
The competition accepts entries from any field. While submissions often come from science, engineering, mathematics and technology disciplines, creativity and invention from any academic area are welcome.
Entry requirements
- Every entry must be the original idea and work product of the student(s) and their faculty adviser(s).
- Entries must not have been (a) patented or publicly disclosed by another party/inventor, or (b) issued a patent more than one year before the submission date to the competition.
- Submissions should represent a reduced-to-practice concept or a working model/prototype created by a student or a team of students, either as part of a class or as an independent project.
- The invention must be reproducible.
Final judging and awards event
The final judging round and the awards presentation will take place at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 15–16. Finalists will be invited to attend and receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
Prizes and distinctions
- The Collegiate Inventors Competition is not a scholarship or tuition grant program. Instead, it recognizes outstanding student inventions with unrestricted cash awards.
- Finalists compete for first and second place in separate Undergraduate and Graduate divisions.
- Winners receive cash prizes and a patent acceleration certificate.