NCDMM and AMT Extend Deadline for MTConnect Student Challenge

The submission deadline for the Ideation Competition of the first MTConnect Student Challenge has been extended to December 15, 2015.  

The MTConnect Student Challenge offers all U.S. college students (undergraduate and graduate; university and community college) a tremendous opportunity to harness their creativity and problem-solving skills using MTConnect, an open, HTTP- and XML-based communications standard, and apply them to their understanding of manufacturing to compete for cash prizes, totaling $33,000.

Organizers say the goal is to allow students not only more time to develop and submit their ideas, but also enable more students to participate.The MTConnect Student Challenge is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T) Program. It is managed by The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), the U.S. Army Benét Labs, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, and the MTConnect Institute, in partnership with SME and the National Tooling and Machining Association.

MTConnect is an open, royalty-free communications standard intended to foster greater interoperability and information sharing between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications. In manufacturing environments to date, harnessing the wealth of available information and data across equipment and devices has been challenging due in large part to the disparate nature of software programs. The MTConnect Institute is responsible for the development and further adoption of the standard.

“On behalf of all of us at NCDMM, OSD DSM&T, the U.S. Army Benét Labs, AMT, and the MTConnect Institute, we encourage college students to participate in this unique opportunity and the experience it affords and help to innovate the advanced manufacturing industry with new applications created using MTConnect,” said NCDMM President and Executive Director Ralph Resnick. “With this deadline extension, it is our collective expectation that students use the additional time to their advantage as they continue to work on their concepts or now decide to enter the competition.”

The MTConnect Student Challenge is structured as one challenge with two contests that will award cash prizes at the conclusion of each stage.

Ideation, the first contest, involves the identification of ambitious yet achievable ideas that capture the public’s imagination and harness innovation and manufacturing intelligence breakthroughs. Students will be required to submit a written report that clearly identifies the problem, solution, and value proposition. First and second place winners and three runners-up will be selected and awarded a total of $10,500 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 award for first place.

Application, the second contest, involves the submission of an actual software application. Students will be required to develop and demonstrate a software application that harnesses innovation and manufacturing intelligence breakthroughs that could benefit the Department of Defense and its industrial manufacturing supply chain. Participation in the Ideation contest is not a prerequisite for participation in the Applicatoin contest. Three winners will be selected and awarded a total of $22,500 in cash prizes, including a $10,000 award for first place. The Application submission deadline is January 31, 2016.

For complete MTConnect Student Challenge rules, guidelines, and submission forms, visit https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/mtconnectstudentideas/ and https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/mtconnectstudentapps/.

To learn more about MTConnect, visit the MTConnect Institute at MTConnect.org.