Judging Process

HKUST-Sino One-Million-Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2021

Judges

  1. The Judges shall be experienced entrepreneurs, investors, academics and industrial professionals appointed by Entrepreneurship Center.
  2. HKUST and the Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry that in its judgment violates the “Application & Eligibility” and/or “Submission Rules” of the Competition.
  3. HKUST and the Judging Panel reserve the right to amend the procedure and/or the timing for the competition on one or more occasions without giving prior notice to any of the participants. HKUST and the Judging Panel reserve the right to decide that all or any of the entries or plans do not meet the judging criteria, or to defer in whole or in part all or any of the cash and/or in-kind contribution awards to the following year.
  4. The decisions of the Judging Panel are final and binding.

Judging Process

The assessment process consists of 4 rounds and the winners will be announced after the Competition.

  1. Round 1 Assessment

    April 14, 2021 Deadline of Application
    April 14-28, 2021 Evaluation of All Entries
    April 28, 2021 Result Announcement of Round 1 Assessment

  2. Round 2 Assessment

    May, 2021 Matching and Training
    June 10, 2021 Deadline of Product Introduction Video and Poster Submission
    June 16-21, 2021 Poster Exhibition & Online Voting
    June 16-24, 2021 Evaluation of All Submissions
    June 24, 2021 Announcement of Round 3 entries


  3. Round 3 Assessment

    July 2, 2021 Deadline of Short Business Plan Submission
    July 6, 2021 3-minute Pitch
    July 8, 2021 Announcement of Final Round entries
  4. Final Round Assessment

    July 21, 2021 Deadline of Full Business Plan Submission Business Plan Presentation

Judging Process of Each Round

(A) Round 1 Assessment: 1-page Teaser

The core assessment of the entries will focus on the innovativeness, feasibility and viability of the proposed product.

  1. All applications will be evaluated by a judging panel formed by Entrepreneurship Center using a common “1-page Teaser Judging Criteria”. A maximum of 50 entries from the 1-page Teaser.
  2. Global Challenge Awards winners will be determined in this round.

Note: Up to 40 outstanding teams from internal or external competitions and nomination will be selected to enter the Round 2 Assessment. Together with the 50 entries from the 1-page Teaser, maximum 90 teams will be shortlisted to enter Round 2 Assessment.

(B) Round 2 Assessment: Product Introduction Video and Poster

The core assessment of the entries will focus on the value proposition and impact of the product/services you are providing.

Product Introduction Video
  1. All Round 2 entries are required to submit a 1-min Product Introduction Video
  2. Each video will be assessed by 3 or more independent judges formed by experienced entrepreneurs, investors, academics and industrial professionals. They will make their evaluations and score the teams according to a common “Product Introduction Video Judging Criteria”. Top 10 from UST Student Track and Top 18 from Main Track with highest scores will enter the Round 3 Assessment.
  3. The videos will be uploaded to the Competition website for online voting by HKUST members.
  4. The Best Video Award (3 places) will be decided based on the online voting.
Product Introduction Poster Exhibition
  1. The Poster Exhibition will take place on 16-21 June, 2021. The purpose is to gather more innovative ideas for HKUST Community and to have exposure opportunities for the teams.
  2. The Poster Exhibition will not be counted into the score for next round.
  3. Teams are still required to submit the Poster to fulfill the Round 2 eligibility.


(C) Round 3 Assessment: 3-minute Pitch

The 3-minute Pitch will take place on July 6, 2021

  1. Each Team is required to make a 3-minute pitch in front of a Judging Panel of 3 Judges followed by up to 6 minutes of Q&A by the Judging.
  2. Each Team is required to submit a Business Plan. The submitted version will be sent to the judging panel for background study before the Short Pitch. Teams not meeting this deadline may be disqualified.
  3. The Judging Panel will make their evaluations and score the teams according to a common “3-minute Pitch Judging Criteria” and select the Top 3 from UST Student Track and Top 6 from Mixed Track for Round 3.
  4. Top 3 from UST Student Track in this round will be awarded with HKUST Student Team Award.
  5. Shortlisted teams to the Final Round will have a chance to give an elevator pitch in the Award Ceremony to compete for the Elevator Pitch Award.


(D) Final Round Assessment: Full Business Plan Presentation
Business Plan Presentation

The Final Round Business Plan Presentation will take place on July 21, 2021. The full business plan should explain the practicability of the plan execution and fundability potential.

  1. Each team will conduct a 10-minute, uninterrupted Business Plan presentation in English followed by up to 15 minutes of Q&A by the Judging Panel of 3 Judges. It is not compulsory for all team members to speak in the presentation. But the whole team should be there for the Q&A section, the judging panel would ask questions to specific members of the team as per their role and expertise inside the team.
  2. The Judges will make their evaluations and give their scores by using a common “Business Plan Judging Criteria”.
  3. The winner of the "GF Innovation Award" will be decided after a joint deliberation of the Judging Panel.

Shortlisted teams in the Final Round will have a chance to give an elevator pitch in the Award Ceremony to compete for the Elevator Pitch Award. The Pitch should be done by one of the HKUST members in the team.