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PCV Prize Official Rules

The inaugural PCV Prize is a student climate tech startup competition hosted in collaboration by Penn Climate Ventures and SparkTeen.

1. Competition Tracks

There are two groups of tracks: Collegiate Tracks and the High School Track.

Collegiate Teams

  • Waste and Circularity
  • Energy and Transportation
  • Food and Agriculture
  • Wild Card

High School Teams | Powered by SparkTeen

All high school teams will compete in the same track.

2. Eligibility

Individual Eligibility

All students enrolled at a university or high school in the world are eligible to compete.

Team Eligibility

PCV Prize teams compete in groups of 1-5. Depending on your track, different eligibility rules may apply. The PCV Prize team reserves the right to determine a team’s eligibility.

For All Teams

  • You do NOT need to have an incorporated business to apply; all concepts are welcome, whether it's just a great idea or a revenue-making startup
  • If you do have an established startup, you must not have received more than $25K in external funding, dilutive or non-dilutive.

For Collegiate Teams

All team members must be currently enrolled students, at either the high school, undergrad, or graduate school level. We'd recommend teams solely consisting of high school members to participate in the high school track.

For High School Teams

All team members must be currently enrolled in a high school anywhere around the world.

3. Registration

All competitors need to register for the PCV Prize. Registrants receive the latest updates on all events and sessions.

Individual Registrations (Due Date EXTENDED to 4/5 @ 11:59 PM ET) 

Everyone needs to register as an individual at tinyurl.com/PCVPrizeS21.​

Team Registrations  (Due 4/5 @ 11:59 PM ET)

Once you've decided on your team, register them at tinyurl.com/PCVPrizeTeamRegistration

4. Submissions

All submissions due 4/16 @ 11:59 PM ET.

Once you feel ready, submit your team's deck and presentation at tinyurl.com/PCVPrizeSubmission
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Submission Materials
  • 5-Minute Pitch Video
  • Pitch Deck
  • (Optional) 2 Supplemental PDFs [10 pages max per PDF]
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Click here for the Round 1 Submission Rubric.
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5. First Round Judging

First-round pitches are ranked on:

 

  • technical feasibility
  • potential environmental impact
  • financial viability
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Two finalists will from each track will be announced the morning of 4/19. Good luck!

6. Finals (4/24 @ 12 PM ET)

During our finalists week, our 10 finalists will receive:

 

  • 1-on-1 Mentorship
  • Investor Intros
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Finalists compete LIVE for first, second, and third place awards in closing session!

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