1. THE TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION
The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to write and present outstanding
technical papers. The awards recognize juniors and/or seniors industrial engineering students
who produce outstanding undergraduate technical papers.
1. Papers can be projects done for a company as part of a course, or they may be
undergraduate research projects done at the home institution.
2. Only IIE members are eligible to participate.
3. Each participating university, including the host institution, may submit up to
two papers as entries.
4. There should be a minimum of three judges. Faculty members from competing
schools are not eligible to serve as judges.
The paper should be written in a professional journal format including page numbers,
table of contents and binding. Every author must make an oral presentation at the University
Region Conference. The first place winner will be eligible to compete in the Technical Paper
Competition International Finals at the IE Solutions Conference in Cleveland in May 2000.
Follow closely the following requirements.
 The paper should not exceed 20 pages, including appendices, but excluding table
of contents.
 Font size should be Times New Roman, Point Size 11, or larger.
 Margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) all around.
 Single spacing.
 At the regional level, the paper may be written and delivered in the language of
the region, or in the language established by the host committee (host committees
should, of course, confer with the other chapters in the region before making any
decision). The conference host committee is strongly encouraged to budget funds
for translation of the document to English, should it be necessary.
 English will be the official language of the IIE Solutions International Conference
for the year 2000. The written document must be submitted in English for
judging at the international level. The oral presentation may be made in the
native language of the competitor – the IE Solutions conference will provide
language translation services as necessary. If language translation services will
be needed, the conference host committee must notify IIE Headquarters of their
needs IMMEDIATELY after the regional conference.
The competition begins at the chapter level, progresses to the University Region
Conference contests and culminates at the international level, which will be held at the IIE
Annual Solutions and Conference Exposition. Entry forms are found in the appendices. The
entry form is only submitted at the level of the Regional conference. For the international
competition, the host institution sends directly the first place paper along with the faculty
advisor’s certification that it is undergraduate work.
Judging forms are also found in the appendices. The same forms must be used for all
levels of competition, including the International one.
1.1 CHAPTER LEVEL
Each chapter can select up to two papers for competition in the University Region
Conference competition. If there are more than two competing papers from a chapter,
the chapter should conduct its own competition at the local level to determine which two
papers will compete at the regional level. The individual chapter competitions are not
the responsibility of the regional conference host.
Multi-authored papers are permitted, provided the names of all authors are on the paper.
If four or fewer chapters participate in the Regional conference competition, a
maximum of three papers may be accepted from each school. However, all schools must
be informed of the change.
The first page of the certification from the department head or faculty advisor should be a
letter attesting that the paper is an undergraduate work. A copy of the certification form is
found in the appendices. Send two of these forms to each school in your Region.
1.2 REGION LEVEL
The participating schools must submit three copies of each paper for presentation at the
University Region Conferences. These are addressed to the president of the host chapter in
care of the faculty advisor. The papers must be submitted at least four weeks prior to the
conference in order to allow time for judging. Flexibility on this regard is up to the Host
Chapter; however, keep in mind that the judging is based on the written portion of the project
as well as the oral presentation of it. Depending on how many entries you have, the judges
may need 3 to 4 weeks to properly judge the papers.
The faculty advisor of the host chapter and conference committee shall select a judging
committee. The committee should have at least three qualified judges, excluding faculty
members from competing schools. It is recommended that the judges selected should
include one educator, one industry representative, and a third from one of the following:
a. An educator with practical experience and knowledge of new developments in the
field
b. A current graduate student who possesses industrial experience.
c. A management consultant or top industrial leader who has knowledge of recent
developments in the field
Judges selected should have little or no ties to the host chapter. The host chapter should
plan so that the judges deliver their results on the same day of the oral presentations. The host
chapter should reserve a conference room or other area where the judges can deliberate in
private after the oral presentations. No one from the host committee or any of the
competing schools should be allowed in that area during the judges’ deliberations.
The host committee is responsible for providing the Judging criteria and Instructions (see
appendix) to all judges along with the papers.
The judging takes place in two steps:
a. Written paper: all scores must be submitted before oral presentations begin.
b. Oral presentation: scoring should occur immediately after the presentation.
No ranking shall be made until both scores have been tabulated.
The important directive is that Papers must be original works by undergraduate students.
Multi-authored papers are permissible; however, it is assumed that one person will be the
principal author and this person will make the oral presentation. The award will be given to
the principal author only.
Criteria:

Depth, significance, and originality of subject matter

Excellence of written presentation

Excellence of oral presentation
Judging is based on 75% written presentation and 25% oral presentation. Each presenter
must be allowed equal amount of time, not to exceed 15 minutes plus three minutes for a
question and answer period. Questions can come only from students outside the presenter’s
chapter. The Host Committee establishes the actual minutes allowed depending on the number
of entries received.
The region winners should be announced during the awards banquet ceremony. The host
chapter should present financial awards to the winners. This money comes from conference
funds. Suggested amounts are:
First Place
Second Place
$100.00
$75.00
Third Place
$50.00
The host chapter chairperson is also responsible for release of suitable publicity of award
winners to college publications, IIE publications, and students' hometown papers, etc. Do not
return papers to the authors before forwarding them to IIE.
The chairperson of the University Region Conference should send three copies of the
first place paper to the IIE Headquarters no later than April 10. Papers received after
this date will not participate in the international competition.
1.3 INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
The participants in this competition are the winners of the first place from each of the
Regional Conferences. The competition will end with an oral presentation by the finalists in
front of their peers and professional IEs at the IIE Annual Conference.
Judging will be done on site, immediately after the presentations, by a judging committee
of prominent, professional people selected by The Vice President for Student Development.
The committee selects the winners of the first, second, and third place.
Only papers received by the April 10 deadline will participate at this level. It is the Host
committee’s responsibility to ensure that the papers get to IIE headquarters on time.
Again, the oral presentation may be made in the native language of the competitor.
However, the winning regional paper must be submitted IN ENGLISH. The IE Solutions
conference will provide language translation services as necessary, if notified immediately
after the regional conference.
The judging criteria will be the same as that of the regional conference. However, the
judges will be different. In this sense, all the papers are judged again from scratch.
The winners will be announced at the Honors and Awards Ceremony.
UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION
SUBMISSION FORM
Please type or print all information.
Date _________ Chapter Name _______________________ Number ____ Region ____
Title of Paper ________________________________________________________
Name, membership number, address, phone number, and email for each author
Faculty Advisor Certification: I, hereby, certify that this work is the original work of
the author(s) and that it was completed while they were undergraduates
Name
Signature
Date
Chapter No.
No paper shall be received without this certification. Certification for the first place winner
must accompany the paper when it submitted to IIE headquarters.
TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION – JUDGING CRITERIA
WRITTEN REPORT (75 POINTS):
Contents (0 – 45 points)

How related to IE is the topic of the paper?

Was the effort of value to the company? Was it of value to enhance the body of
knowledge?

Were the appropriate IE tools adequately used? How modern were these tools?

Does the work seems to be original student(s) work?

Does the effort led to specific recommendations? Were these recommendation clearly
stated? Do these recommendations make sense from an IE point of view?
Organization (0 – 30 points)

Was the paper cohesively written? Was it easy to follow the ideas presented in it?
Was there a logical flow of ideas? Does the paper states all aspects of the
project?

Was the paper broken down into appropriate and logical sections?

Does the paper conforms to the requirements of:
o The paper should not exceed 20 pages, including appendices, but
excluding table of contents.

o
Font size should be Times New Roman, Point Size 11, or larger.
o
Margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) all around.
o
Single spacing.
Did the authors use appropriate grammar?
ORAL PRESENTATION (25 POINTS):
Introduction of Topic (0 - 5 points)
Introduction: Did it prepare the audience?
Objective clearly stated?
Results made clear?
Development of Topic (0 - 5 points)
Was the subject matter presented in a logical fashion?
Was it presented succinctly and in a complete fashion?
Did the statements of the speaker explicitly support the conclusions of the effort?
Competence of Speaker (0 - 5 points)
Clarity of speech?
Tone of voice?
Visual contact with the audience?
Calmness (lack of nervous habits)?
Did the speaker capture the audience’s attention?
Was the speaker able to provoke significant questions?
Did the speaker handle the questions well?
Visual Materials (0 - 5 points)
Clarity of materials (could you read them)?
Outline: Was there logical flow of thought?
Summary: Did it summarize the main points?
Timing (0 - 5 points)
Was the presentation within the time limits?
Did the speaker allow appropriate time for questions?
TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION - INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET
(WRITTEN)
Entry Number _____ Judge ____________________________ Date ____________
Title ________________________________________________________________
Written Report (75 Points)
I. Contents (0-45 points)
Maximum Points
Area
9
Suitable IE related topic.
9
Worthiness of project to company or to the body of knowledge.
9
IE Tools and Techniques adequately used.
9
Originality – reflects student’s work.
9
Synthesis of solutions / recommendations / action plan.
Total Point Score:
Notes
II. Organization (0-30 Points)
Maximum
Points
A.
Thought Development (15 Points)
5
Logical
5
Completeness
5
Easy to Follow
B.
Mechanics (15 Points)
5
Grammar
5
Overall format (conforms to requirements)
5
Physical Organization (logical paragraphing, effective topical
division)
Total Point Score:
Notes
SCORE FOR WRITTEN PRESENTATION
Score
TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION - INDIVIDUAL SCORE SHEET (ORAL)
Entry Number _____ Judge ____________________________ Date ____________
Title ________________________________________________________________
Oral Presentation (25 Points)
I.
Introduction of Topic (0-5 Points)
Conclusion of investigation made clear in beginning of delivery
Notes
II.
Development of Topic (0-5 Points)
Logically, solidly, succinctly supports conclusion
Notes
III.
Competence of Speaker (0-5 Points)
Speaker well versed; handled subject calmly and intelligently, speaker loud and
distinct enough to be heard in entire room; speaker’s interaction with the audience
Notes
IV.
Visual Materials (0-5 Points)
Clarity of materials, logical flow, summarize main points
Notes
V.
Timing (0-5 Points)
Presentation within time limits; speaker allowed sufficient time for questions
Notes
SCORE FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
SUMMARY JUDGING SHEET
University Technical Paper Competition
Entry #
Score
Type
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Written
Oral
Total
Judge #__ Judge #__ Judge #__ Judge #__ Judge #__ Total
Score