Creating a Good Submittal

ASCE hosted two webinars for the Student Innovation Contest


  • The second webinar was held January 22. This program discussed in more detail how to make the best submission, common mistakes to avoid and best practices.

  • The first webinar was held November 2018 and discussed the contest in general, judging criteria and timelines.

Creating a good submission

Content desired includes submissions that describes the following as much as possible:

  • Define the Problem - What problems are you solving; what issues does it address; and why does the problem cause so much pain for the industry and/or potential customers. How is this problem being addressed now? How much do customers and the industry feel they need a new solution? Is a solution a nice to have and makes customer life a little better or does it solve problems that keep them up at night or significantly change the way they do things for the better (big cost reduction, reduction in time to deliver, etc.)?

  • dESCRIBE YOUR sOLUTION- What CVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBCVBo

  • Market Potential - Who are the potential users and buyers of the innovation? How many are there and where are they (e.g. how big is the market)? Is this a growing market? or is it a solution on for a market that is decreasing?
  • Competition - What are the current competitive solutions or jerry rigged home baked solutions? Explain how you are different.


  • BEFORE AND AFTER - describe the product and how it would be used. This is not so much a description of the innovation (see below) but rather a description of what it does and how it would be used.


  • Innovation and Uniqueness - describe the science, methodology (process improvement or new methods), engineering and/or technology behind the innovation. Offer the reader information that gives them some confidence it will work (pilot, test results, current uses etc.). Technical descriptions are fine, but this should also be written for the public to understand.
  • Product benefits - What will the customer be able to do that it couldn’t do before? Quantify the improvement in terms of time or materials saved, labor saved, shortened construction/manufacturing methods, reduced maintenance, longer life span, improved performance, etc. How long before the customer gets their ROI (Return on Investment); specifically, in months or years?