Power and Energy Chapter Launches Best PhD Thesis Competition and Award 2023
The IEEE UK and Ireland Power and Energy Chapter invites video submissions for the PhD Thesis Competition Award. The goal of this competition is to showcase PhD projects to the entire power and energy community – both in academia and industry. The PhD thesis video should be up to 10 minutes long.
Eligibility
- All PhD thesis in the UK and Ireland with final submission date on or after 01 September 2021 are eligible
- The applicant must be an IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Member
- In order to be eligible, the applicant should sign a form to express the consent that the video may be published by UK and Ireland PES Chapter, and provide assurance that the video does not contain otherwise copyrighted or confidential material
- The PhD topic should be aligned within the Power and Energy chapter.
Schedule
- Open Submission: 01 February 2023
- Deadline to Apply: 30 April 2023
- Judging Phase: 01 – 30 May 2023
- Winner Notified: 01 June 2023
Submission Guidelines
The applicant will provide a link to the video during the submission process along with an endorsement letter from their thesis supervisor explaining the contributions achieved with the research and a link to the thesis if it is available.
The video should summarise the PhD research. The length of the video should not exceed 10 minutes (strict rule).
The submission requires the following information:
- Name (contact info)
- University
- IEEE Membership Number
- Thesis Title
- Brief Abstract (< 200 words)
- Keywords (3-5)
- Date of Thesis Submission for Viva
- Viva Date
- Date of Final Thesis Submission
- Endorsement Letter from Supervisor
All submissions must be in English.
The full thesis document may be requested if the panel requires further assessment.
Judging Criteria
Each submission will be reviewed by at least three judges from across the UK and Ireland Section to score and rank the video submissions. Reviewers will be asked to score the video submissions according to the judging rubric given below.
The winner will be identified based on the total score comprised of the following four aspects with their respective category weights:
- Problem definition (20%)
- Design methodology (20%)
- Achieved outcomes (20%)
- Quality of video and presentation (40%)
Notes: Please highlight the research content and contribution instead of the received awards/achievements. An English accent will not influence the scores as long as the voice in the video can be clearly understood.
Judging Rubric
(On a scale of 1 to 5)
1 – Not satisfactory, 2 – Satisfactory, 3 – Good, 4 – Very good, 5 – Excellent
|
Judging Items |
Scores | |
| Problem definition | Clear research objectives, problems, and hypothesis | |
| Rich in engineering judgment and insight | ||
| Design methodology | Methods are technically and mathematically accurate | |
| Well supported with analysis and experimental evidence (Are there any prototype/application demonstrations?) | ||
| Achieved outcomes (contribution) | Contribution to the field (e.g., interesting to readers, stimulates new ideas, publications/result dissemination) | |
| Valuable for practicing engineers or researchers | ||
| Quality of video and presentation | Present within 10 minutes, personally appear in the video, and use of English (clear, concise, and correct) | |
| Presents the material in a well-organised way – from framing the problem to presenting the proposed solution | ||
| Effective use of visual aids (figures, tables, charts, layout, etc.) improves the effectiveness of video and presentation | ||
| Video and audio quality (e.g., resolution, clear audio, design) | ||
Presentation of Awards
The winner will be awarded a plaque plus travel expenses to the UK & Ireland PES Chapter AGM in December 2023.
Video Guidelines
- Prepare a video that highlights your Ph.D. thesis and its contribution. The length of the video should NOT exceed 10 minutes. It is suggested that the video should begin with a “title page” that includes the title of the video/thesis, the name of the applicant (the Ph.D. student / graduate), the advisor’s name, and the university/affiliation
- The video should be a live recording where the presenter appears on the screen most of the time and uses displays to explain the main points of his/her research. Only voice over power point video presentations is NOT recommended. An interactive presentation is HIGHLY recommended
- All entries must be submitted in English
- The video resolution should be high, along with high quality audio
- Video must uploaded onto online platforms (e.g. YouTube) and the link to be submitted
- Use of copyrighted materials must be avoided. Proper citations/references to the materials should be included, including your own publications. It is the applicants’ responsibility to resolve any copyright issues before submission
Helpful Guidelines for Creating Videos
The following information is provided to assist participants in developing a good video that presents the project in an engaging way.
- How to organise:
- Effective presentation should convey the following five things about your thesis work:
- What is the problem and why it’s important to solve it? (Problem Statement)
- What has been done so far to solve it? (State of the Art)
- What have you done with your methods that is different than what others have done so far? (Methodologies)
- What value does your approach add to the body of knowledge and how does it advance the field? (Significance of Results)
- Where do we go from here? (Future Plan)
- Effective presentation should convey the following five things about your thesis work:
It is suggested that the applicants present the thesis like a story. It’s not easy to condense the thesis into 10 minutes. Breaking your presentation down into smaller sections may help to smooth the presentation. For instance, the presentation may include:
- Introduction:
- Create an interesting opening sequence that captures the audience’s attention. Use the introduction to give a brief overview of the Ph.D. project, explain the problem(s) that have been addressed, the lack or limitations of prior-art solutions, and define the impact of the proposed solutions.
- Body:
- Use the main body of the video to present your design methodology and your solution. Support the video presentation with hardware/software prototype images and engineering analysis data to strengthen the technical content of the video.
- Conclusion:
- Summarise the main results of the project/the video presentation, the expected impact to sponsor/other, and the knowledge gained in this project. Wrap up the video with a memorable ending.
Please note that all the above are suggestions to structure your video presentation. You’re expected to produce and submit interesting and creative video that summarises your Ph.D. thesis work within 10 minutes.
Intellectual Property
Describe your thesis without disclosing confidential information. Necessary permission from the sponsor should be obtained in case of the sponsored research project.
Nomination
All videos must be submitted via the following form before noon 30 April 2023 (GMT)
