DEEP SOLAR SYSTEM SETTLEMENT & EXPLORATION COMPETITION

DSSSEC-2022 will be organised by Astrophile Education Services and will be conducted Pan-India in 3 rounds. There will be different challenges at each level but the pillars of the competition will remain the same.

Each level will be used to filter out the best of the best and those will proceed towards the next round. In the end of third round, the winners of the competition will be delivered.

LEVEL 1: Preliminary Round: Preliminary round will be the first step towards short listing all the teams with capable mind and understanding of the situation at hand. Below steps needs to be followed while participating in the competition. This will also be the entry point for all students in to the competition.

• Stage 1 – Registration: The competition will start with teams registering for the competition. The registration process is simple. Click on the registration button above and it will take you to the registration form where you will be asked to fill all the details required for participating. The participation to the competition is paid and the fee payment is mandatory while submitting registration form. It can not be left blank. In case the transaction detail is not provided, the registration will be null and void and the team may not participate in the competition.
• Stage 2 – Entries: After the registration is scrutinised and verified with all the relevant documents and requirements, a Request For Proposal or RFP will be sent to all the teams. The students have to go through the RFP and understand the requirements and challenges. The RFP will describe and provide a standard situation which the teams have to provide solution to. The RFP will highlight all the parameters which the teams have to consider while designing and calculating the parts, components and solutions. Certain aspects of the calculation will require assumptions or referring to the engineering/metallurgical handbooks for the correct parameters of alloys/elements used. The students will get up to 100 days to study, plan, design, develop and execute the ideas and solutions for the competition. A detailed report on the solution shall be prepared and submitted within the stipulated 100 day period. A dummy report/format of the same will be uploaded on the website at the time when RFP is available.
• Stage 3 – Scrutiny: After the successful submission of the proposal, our panel will take a look at each proposal and study the solutions in detail. After all the submissions are assessed, the teams will be notified of the results and the same will be available on our website. The winning teams will get to Next level of competition. The teams who could not proceed to the next level will be awarded a certificate of participation. The certificate will be for the participating students, Teacher In-Charge and the School they belong to. In case if one of the winning team can not compete in the second round, the next best team in the list will get an opportunity. There will be 5 winners from each zone who will compete in the Level 2. A total of 25 teams will be selected.

LEVEL 2: Zonal Round: Zonal round will be the next level for students to compete Here the teams will compete within the 5 zones the country has, primarily North, South, East, West and Central. Each zone will have their RFP and the scrutiny will be done accordingly.

• Stage 1 – Re-Registration: The teams will have to submit the registration form and registration fee once again within 21 days (3 Weeks) from the date of announcement. The team need not submit another registration form if the participants are same. The registration will stand complete if the fee is paid and the team declare “No-Change” in participating team members.
• Stage 2 – Entries: After the registration is complete, the students will receive a new RFP, very similar to the previous one but definitely new problems, challenges, requirements. They students will now have about 75 days time limit where they can submit their proposal.
• Stage 3 – Scrutiny: The received proposals will be scrutinised on the same parameters by our panel as and when received so as to evaluate and identify the winners. Two teams from each zone will be declared winners and will be given a chance to participate in the National Finals. They will also receive a certificate of winner of that zone and trophy. Other teams will receive certificates for Zonal participation for their zone.

Who Can Participate?

Any student, studying in a school in India, between the grades 8 and 12 (both included) can participate in this competition if s/he can form a team within their school mates. An approval of school authorities and assignment of one school employee (Science Teacher preferred) as in-charge is mandatory.

• The student shall be aged between 13-17 years of age.
• The student shall be a regular students of the school studying in grade 8 or higher.
• The student must not attain the age of 18 as of December 1st, 2021.
• The student shall be studying in an Indian School.
• In case of foreign nationals studying in Indian School, a copy of passport clearly stating Nationality of the student and the passport number/any other identification proof stating the country of origin needs to be submitted.
• A team of 8-12 members is required to participate in this competition. Make sure all the students fulfil the requirements as stated anywhere in the website.

How Can you Participate?

The participation to competition is subjected to the requirements and adhering to the rules and regulations of the competition. Kindly go through all the links carefully before you fill the registration form. The registration form is subjected to completing formalities as listed under different sections and links. Any incomplete form/lack of approvals will result in disqualification of entries.

Please read the following requirements:

• The participation is strictly on team basis. An individual student can not participate alone.
• Once the team is finalised, you need a cool team name.
• The name of the team shall resemble a company/organisation name.
• The students need approval from the school authorities (Director/Principal/HM).
• The students shall have a school employee (preferably a Science teacher) as the head of the team. Their responsibility will be to look after the working and provide technical know-how to the team.
• The competition fee shall be payable in advance as you would require the transaction details to be submitted during the registration process. Make sure to retain any document/screenshot as proof of payment until you receive the confirmation of payment and completed registration from.
• Visit the registration form enter all the details to the best of your knowledge. Astrophile Education Services will not be responsible for lack of communication if the details entered by the team is wrong/not updated.
• Scan and email the approval letter duly attested and signed by the school authority to dsssecompetition@gmail.com.
• The details of next steps will be emailed to all the team members and the same will be available on the website within 72 hours of the end of previous step. Kindly be patient and wait for the time period.
• For any query or concern, kindly email us.

When Can you Participate?

The registrations begins on the midnight of February 01, 2021 and you have 4 weeks to submit your registration. Registration shall include submission of form, scanned copy of approval letter from the school authority giving approval and assigning project in-charge. Registration closes on February 28, 2021.

Submission of Registration Form:

• The Students have to submit and fulfil all the requirements as mentioned on the website.
• If needed, we can ask for more relevant documents for confirming the authenticity of the participation. It would be need based and hence may or may not be asked for all students.
• The submission process will be open from 00:00:01 on February 01 till 23:59:59 on February 28, 2021. Submissions received beyond the final time will be null and void. If transaction is made for the same, the amount will be refunded.
• The students need to be sure about their eligibility status. Astrophile Education Services shall not take any responsibility for disqualification of any team at a later stage. There will be no refunds of participation fee in case of disqualification due to lack of eligibility.
• The students will have time till 23:59:59 of March 7th 2021 to withdraw their entry. 80% of the fee paid will be refunded after the same has been requested through the school teacher/authority.
• If at any stage we find any team not following the rules and getting undue advantage due to this, they may be penalised/disqualified from the competition. The team will get a chance to prove they are not involved in any activity/behaviour which violates the rules of the competition. No refund would be made in such a case.
• Other forms of cancellations may be decided from case to case basis.

Every competition comes with certain set of rules to follow. This one is no different in that aspect. Please go through all the rules.

• The deadlines are important. Not adhering to the deadline may cause your disqualification or your entries may not be accepting.
  
• The format is important. The proposal shall be submitted in proper business format like the fonts, language, content etc.
• You can choose your logo, letterhead etc although it is not mandatory but will give you an edge.
• All submissions shall clearly indicate if they will work on some or all aspects of the problem and challenges.
• You can seek help from google but can not speak to any individual outside of your team or the Google Search for any information. Referring to books in any library in this world is not only acceptable but encouraged.
• Seeking help outside your team will result in disqualification.
• Only the assigned advisor can be reached out from school for any help or information.