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// The competition

One contract.
Every team wants it.

Teams submit a written proposal and build a physical model, then present both to a panel of industry judges: 10 minutes to pitch, 5 minutes of questions, and a 5-minute walkthrough of the model itself.

// Awards

Nine ways to win.

One team takes the contract, but the panel recognises excellence across every discipline in the brief. Prize details are confirmed closer to the event.

Best Proposal

The single strongest submission overall — the design that wins the IDC's contract.

Prize to be announced

Best Design

The strongest architectural and engineering solution across the whole colony.

Prize to be announced

Best CEO

Outstanding leadership coordinating a team and its proposal end to end.

Prize to be announced

Most Innovative

The boldest, most original thinking anywhere in the brief.

Prize to be announced

Best Safety

The most thorough emergency response and crew safety design.

Prize to be announced

Best Automation

The most capable robotics and automated systems design.

Prize to be announced

Best Spacesuit

Practical, well-reasoned suit design for Mars surface operations.

Prize to be announced

Best Transport

The best aerial, surface, and spacecraft transport solutions.

Prize to be announced

Best Habitat & Leisure

Accommodation and recreation designed for a genuinely liveable colony.

Prize to be announced

// Criteria

How the panel scores it.

Six official criteria. The IDC has not published fixed weightings, so treat every one of them as equally decisive.

01

RFP adherence

Does the proposal answer every requirement the client actually asked for?

02

Modelling competency

Craft, accuracy, and clarity in the physical model on your board.

03

Team dynamics

How well the crew divides work, resolves disagreement, and holds together.

04

Communication

The pitch, the questions, and how clearly the design is explained.

05

Corporate branding

Presenting as a credible company, not a school project.

06

Inter-team cooperation

How your board connects with your neighbours' to form one continuous colony.

Competition rules

  1. Presentation. 10 minutes to pitch, 5 minutes of judges' questions, and 5 minutes to walk the panel through your model.
  2. Submission. Proposals are capped at 30 pages, delivered on the provided pen drive as PowerPoint, Word, or PDF, with any video under 1GB.
  3. No late edits. Proposals and models are locked at submission. Editing either during the presentation period means disqualification.
  4. Penalties. Late submissions and guideline breaches are penalised in scoring, at the panel's discretion.
  5. Conduct. Full school uniform at presentations, phones off or in flight mode, and no disputing the panel's decisions.
  6. Finality. Judging is carried out independently by the panel, and its decisions are final.

The complete rulebook, including safety and material restrictions, is one page away.

Read the full rules Enlist your team