“I Have an Idea!” is an annual Young Innovators Challenge co-hosted by FCDI/AMRoC Fab Lab,  the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame and Scoutlier, with support from the Florida High Tech Corridor.  Youth ages 13+ can enter individually or in teams of up to 4 students.

The Challenge

This challenge asks: What bugs you?  What challenges do you routinely come up against in your life at school, at home, at work, or at play?  Is it a problem for others, too? If you had the chance to solve that problem, how would you do it? Would you create a new product? A service? A method? Do you think your challenge is enough of a problem for others that they might be interested in trying your solution?

The Details

You have until **September 23** to put together a competition entry that includes:

  • The name of your Great Idea
  • A short description of the problem you want to solve (50 words max)
  • A video pitch of no more than 3 min.
  • A proposal of no more than 500 words plus up to two attachments

Your proposed solution submission should include:

  • Your problem statement
  • A clear description of the process or product,
  • Illustrations (drawings, CAD, video)
  • Cost to produce
  • Setbacks you may have encountered in developing your idea, or how it changed from your initial idea to your final solution.
  • Market research: Is your problem a problem for others and how do you know?  Does anything else like your solution already exist? What do you think people would pay for your solution and what are you basing your retail estimate on?

Participants have access to AMRoC Fab Lab for prototyping or design help, research, and professional guidance.

Only completed submissions, with all required elements, will be considered.

Evaluation Criteria

Judges are looking for:

  • An actual problem statement that describes a challenge you and others face
  •  A well-researched and documented solution
  • Potential actual marketability of your solution, including documentation through interviews or market research providing evidence-based support that people need or want the solution and therefore the demand is already there.

The Awards!

  • Top performing teams selected as semifinalists
  • Semifinalists participate in 6-8-week EntrepreneurShift start-up business development program developed by George Wolf
  • Semi-finalists will be able to meet and confer with Florida Inventors Hall of Fame inductees
  • Semi-finalists present and showcase at ROBOTICON in October
  • Semi-finalists give final pitches at Florida State Fair where up to 3 teams will be selected as winners
  • The top three teams receive cash awards of $400, $300, and $200
  • The top team also receives support in incorporating and further developing their product or service idea as an actual business.
Note to adults: *We are looking for students’ work!  *