Part B – Terms & Conditions for University Competition
1. These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) apply to the game of skill described in Part A (the “Competition”).
2. The Competition will be conducted by Environment Protection Authority in collaboration with the University of Sydney during the period specified in Part A (the “Competition Period”).
3. The Terms may be amended or replaced by the EPA and the University in its absolute discretion and at any time.
4. Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of the Terms (as amended from time to time).
5. Entry is open only to eligible persons specified in Part A who comply with any entry restrictions specified in these Terms.
6. To enter the Competition, entrants must, during the Competition Period, follow the entry method and instructions specified in Part A.
7. Entries must be received by the University during the Competition Period. Entrants may submit up to the maximum number of entries specified in Part A. If entrants are invited to answer a question, send in comments, photos and/or videos (or other multimedia) as part of their entry, each entry must be an original work by the entrant and the entrant must have obtained the permission from all persons appearing in photos/videos and property owners to enter this competition in accordance with the Terms. Each entrant warrants that their entry is not, and its use by the University or other persons will not infringe the rights (including intellectual property rights) of any third party.
8. Each entrant is responsible for notifying the University of any changes to his/her residential address, email address or phone number during and after the Competition Period.
9. The Competition is a game of skill, chance plays no part in determining the winner/s and each validly submitted entry will be individually judged by representatives of the EPA and others as specified in Part A, on the basis of originality and creativity, and according to any other criteria specified or adopted by the EPA and the University.
10. A decision of the EPA and the University in relation to the conduct of the Competition, including the judges selection of winning entries, is binding and conclusive and no correspondence will be entered into.
11. Unless otherwise specified in Part A, winners will be notified by phone and/or email within 5 business days after the judging date. Each entrant consents to the EPA and the University publishing details of a winner or winning entry on its website.
12. Unless otherwise specified in Part A, prizes must be claimed within 1 month of the judging date. If a prize is not claimed within the specified time, the University may, at its discretion, withdraw the prize or award the prize to the next best valid entry or entries.
13. Prizes are not transferable. The prizes or any element of the prizes cannot be exchanged for any other prize/s. The contents of the prizes will be at the University’s sole discretion.
14. If a prize involves the winner or winning entry participating in an event, if any part of the event is postponed, cancelled or varied for any reason, then at the University’s discretion, the winner forfeits all rights to participate in the relevant event and no cash or alternative prize will be substituted for that element of the prize.
15. Any expense, including taxes, spare parts, maintenance or delivery costs, associated with accepting, taking or using a prize, will be the prize winner’s sole responsibility.
16. The EPA and the University make no warranties or representations about the fitness for purpose or suitability of any prize and will not accept responsibility for the quality or fitness for any purpose of any prize, or the failure of any prize to be of merchantable quality. If liability under terms implied by legislation cannot be excluded by the EPA or the University, the liability of the EPA and the University is limited to re-supplying the relevant goods or services or paying the cost of replacing them.
17. No responsibility will be taken by the EPA or the University for any changes in dates, times or cancellations or other arrangements that may prevent a winner from accepting, taking or using a prize.
18. The EPA may, in its absolute discretion, disqualify:
a) any entry which is not original, is not completed in accordance with these Terms, infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party, contains any objectionable or poor quality content, or has the potential to damage the reputation of any person; or
b) any individual who tampers with the entry process, submits an entry that is not in accordance with the Terms, or who has in the opinion of the University, engaged in unlawful or improper conduct that is designed to, or is likely to, adversely affect the fair and proper conduct of the Competition or is generally damaging to the goodwill or reputation of the University or the EPA.
19. The EPA and the University reserve the right, in their absolute discretion, at any time before the awarding of the prizes to cancel or vary a competition, or cancel, vary or withdraw its prizes. If the EPA or University cancels or varies a competition, or cancels, varies or withdraws its prizes, is not:
a) liable to any person for any costs, loss or damage whatsoever arising out of, or in connection with, such cancellation, variation or withdrawal; or
b) required to conduct the Competition at any other time.
20. The EPA and the University accept no responsibility for late, lost, incorrectly submitted or misdirected entries, for any technological malfunction or failure, Internet traffic congestion, or for outdated or incorrect contact details by which the entrant cannot be contacted during business hours on relevant dates.
21. Entrants enter the Competition at their sole risk. With the exception of liability which cannot be excluded by law, the EPA and the University is not be liable for, and an entrant releases the EPA and the University from, liabilities relating to any direct or indirect loss or damage which is suffered, or for personal injury or sickness suffered or sustained, as a result of entering the Competition, failing to win, winning, accepting or using a prize.
22. Any information or material provided by entrants to the EPA and the University when entering the Competition will be used by the EPA and the University for the purpose of promoting the purpose of the Competition, conducting the Competition, administering the prizes and as otherwise specified in these Terms. The University may use any personal information in accordance with its privacy policy available at its website http://sydney.edu.au. Entrants may access and correct their personal information held by the University, upon request to the University.
Competition title
NSW Environment Protection (EPA) Hackathon
Competition
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is seeking to identify where and how innovative technological solutions or novel uses of established technology can assist them in regulatory enforcement. They are seeking to identify creative approaches, in the context of planning their technology roadmap for the next decade.
Entrants will choose one brief from the following (indicative list only):
a. Monitoring and enforcement of forestry requirements for logging activities that occur across large geographic areas
b. Real-time notification of pollutant emissions breaches from industrial premises
Entrants will be placed into inter-disciplinary teams by the University and the EPA.
Each team will be required to deliver a report and give a 5 minute presentation, describing viable recommended technical approaches, with examples.
Contact
Associate Professor Maryanne Large, Faculty of Science
Promoter
NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the University of Sydney
How to enter
Competition announced to eligible entrants approximately three weeks prior to Competition. Eligible participants should apply by filling in an online application form.
The form will request:
- Name and Contact info
- 2 preferred topics
- Their academic background, expertise and level (eg postdoc vs post grad).
The University and the EPA will place entrants into interdisciplinary teams of (anticipated to be ~5 or more people) based on choice of topic, discipline and Postdoctoral and Postgraduate status.
All entrants will be notified of their teams prior to start of Competition.
At 1 pm Friday, 4 September 2020, Hackathon commences with EPA presentation followed by Q and A. During Friday, teams may book a short on-line session with EPA personnel to seek additional information.
Teams will prepare a short report (5-10 pages) and video presentation (5 minutes) for the judges.
All of the above will be conducted on-line. There will be no face-to-face sessions including the presentations and judging.
Prize(s)
Winning teams(s) will be awarded the following prize(s) (AUS):
1st prize: $10,000
2nd prize: $7,500
3rd prize: $3,500
The prize money will be paid in equal parts to each member of the winning team notwithstanding the contribution that entrant made to the team.
If the teams are judged to be of equal merit, the prizes may be split, at the judges’ absolute discretion.
Competition Period
The competition commences at 10 am on Friday 4 September 2020 (AEST) and will finish at 5pm on Sunday 6 September 2020 (AEST).
Deadline for submitting report 1pm on Sunday 2020 (AEST). Presentations and judging commence Monday 7 September 2020 (AEST).
Teams will be allocated 5 minute presentation times.
Who may enter
Entry is only open to persons who, during the Competition Period, are:
Academic staff level A or B, such as postdoctoral fellows, and Postgraduate students (Masters and PhD Candidates) from the following faculties / schools:
Science, Engineering, Arts and Social Sciences, Law and the School of Design
Other eligibility requirements include:
· ability to commit approximately 4 hours per day during the Competition Period to working with your team
· have access to a computer and internet
· where applicable, have supervisor approval to participate. Entrants who have University work commitments during the Competition Period must have Supervisor approval to participate or are able to work around those commitments including making alternative arrangements subject to supervisor approval (eg: annual leave).
· All entrants must be residents of New South Wales Australia.
· Employees of the EPA are not eligible to enter the competition.
Maximum number of entries per individual entrant
1 entry / person. For clarity, this includes one entry per team.
Additional entry instructions
All applicants must agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions of entry prior to starting the Hackathon including granting an assignment of all of the entrant’s copyrights in the Presentation and Report to the University on behalf of the EPA.
Minimum number of Teams
If the number of entrants is insufficient to create at least 4 inter-disciplinary teams of 5 participants per team, the EPAs may cancel the Competition.
Judging process
The judging panel will consist of at least 3 judges, including at least one representative from the EPA and two external persons nominated by the University.
[David Fowler, Executive Director, Regulatory Practice and Environment Solutions]
Judges will not rank any team where they have a real or perceived conflict of interest.
Teams will be allocated a 5 minute meeting time to give an on-line presentation.
Each team must make at least one person available at the designated time to present the Team’s submission to the judges at the Team’s appointed presentation time.
All judging sessions and presentations will be confidential.
Subject to confidentiality, reasonable effort will be made to ensure the presentations can be viewed by all entrants after the Competition Period.
Judging criteria
Each Team submission (reports and presentation) will be judged on the following criteria:
- creativity and originality
- the technical and financial viability of their approach
- the quality and rigour of their report and presentation
Judging date
Monday 7 September, 2020
Prize winner notification
The winners will be announced within 5 working days by email,
All Entrants will be notified of the winners within 10 working days by email
Claiming the prize
Winners will be required to provide bank details to enable an electronic funds transfer to occur to a bank in Australia or an Australian postal address to receive a bank cheque for the entrant’s share of the winnings.
Special conditions
1. Intellectual Property: Upon making an application to enter the Competition, the entrant hereby assigns to the University all of the entrant’s right, title and interest in copyrights in the materials authored by the Entrant submitted to the Competition (including Presentation and Report).
2. Each individual who contributes to a group entry is deemed to have consented to entering the Competition and to have accepted the Terms of the Competition.
3. Confidentiality. Entrants acknowledge and agree that all information received from the EPA and information, documents, materials submitted to the Competition including the team entries is Confidential Information. The entrants must not share or make public any Confidential Information without the EPA and the University’s written consent.
4. Publicity. Entrants agree to, at the University’s request, participate in reasonable promotional activity surrounding the Competition or the winning of any prize, free of charge, and they consent to the University, the EPA University and its related bodies corporate using their name and image and submissions (reports) in promotional material. Without limitation, entrants consent to being broadcast, filmed, photographed or otherwise recorded including during on-line sessions and presentations without compensation while participating in this competition, or in taking or using any prize, and they consent to the University repeating all or part of any such broadcast, film or other recording in public at any time.
5. Entrants consent to the disclosure of their information (including their entry) to third parties for such purposes.