Rules for Virtual Challenge
The rules for the virtual challenge are laid out on this page.
All students from the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) department at the University of Texas at Austin are allowed to enter the competition. Only those students within CAEE may participate, however, students from other majors can petition to join a team, but the team must be made up of a simple majority of CAEE students. Any students outside of CAEE wishing to join a team must raise an issue (please tag the issue with "participation" label) or contact the competition organizer.
Teams must be composed of 2-6 currently enrolled students. A student may not work on their own. Teams larger than 6 can petition to add one more member but must raise an issue (please tag the issue with "participation" label) or contact the competition organizer before doing so.
Teams will be partitioned into two divisions based on their average year of schooling:
- Lower Division: Lower-division teams will be made up of first- and second-year students. If one member is a third-year student or higher, the team is automatically placed in the Upper Divison. Teams may petition to be placed in the lower division if, for instance, a third-year student on their team just transferred from a major outside engineering. Please raise an issue (please tag the issue with "participation" label) or contact the competition organizer if you think you have reason to participate in the lower division. Lower-division teams can opt to participate in the upper-division if they so choose, but must contact the competition organizer.
- Upper Division: Upper-division teams will consist of third-year or later students including those in graduate programs within CAEE.
Teams may take inspiration from projects, articles, etc. online, but cannot outright copy. Any team suspected of doing so will be brought in front of the judges and organizing committee and, if found guilty, removed from the current and any future competitions. If you suspect a team of copying, please notify the competition organizer immediately with reasonable proof so they might investigate the situation. Please note that if your claim is found unreasonably false, you and/or your team might also be barred from participation in the current and future competitions.
Teams may reference online materials and consult with others outside their team but are not allowed to have individuals outside their team contribute to the final design and/or presentation. If teams are discovered to have done so, their team will be barred from participating in the current competition. If you have any questions, please contact the competition organizer.
If teams are discovered to have tainted with another team's design, they will be removed from the current competition with the possibility of not being allowed to compete in future competitions. Please notify the competition organizer if your or another team has been tampered with.