• The FIRST in Michigan FTC Innovation Challenge engagement option is for teams who have not yet participated in a sanctioned FIRST in Michigan engagement option.
• The FiM FTC Innovation Challenge can be done 100% virtually if desired.
• This engagement option does not include awards and advancement.
• To participate:
  • Team must be registered for the 2020-21 season.
  • Team must be aligned to the FIRST in Michigan progression of programs and comprised solely of Michigan middle school grade team members.
  • Team must have a Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 and each must have cleared the FIRST Youth Protection screening process.
  • All team students and coaches/mentors are registered through the FIRST Dashboard.
  • Students and coaches/mentors must also electronically complete the FIRST in Michigan Consent and Release Form (see below.)
• Participating in FiM FTC Innovation Challenge to completion will satisfy the competition requirement for grants.
• Teams do not register in advance to participate in this engagement option. Simply submit the required information during the timeframe that the form is open.

• Wednesday, March 31, 8:00 am EST  – FiM Innovation Challenge submission form opens
• Due Date: date depends on presentation submission choice
  • Wednesday, April 28 by 5pm If the team is choosing to do a virtual presentation to a panel of reviewers. The virtual presentation (via Zoom) will be scheduled for May.
  • Wednesday, May 19 by 5pm if the team is choosing document/powerpoint style or video presentation submission.
• May 2 through May 15 – Interview timeframe of review sessions for teams that opt for the virtual Innovation Challenge presentation method.

• Teams do not pre-register to participate in this engagement option. Simply submit the required information during the timeframe that the form is open.
• There is no fee to participate in this engagement option.

Team Participant Roster:

• Team Participant Roster Template: Google Sheet; download to customize.
• Teams are required to fill out and upload a “Team Participant Roster” as part of the submission process.
• Each participant’s “display name” listed on the roster corresponds to their submitted FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form This provides the cross-reference that the team participant has a signed FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form on file.

All registered team participants regardless of the team’s chosen FTC engagement option must satisfy all “event readiness” criteria. This entails completing FIRST HQ and FIRST in Michigan participant registration requirements.

There are two different and separate Consent/Release forms required; one for FIRST HQ and one for FIRST in Michigan:

1. FIRST HQ Consent/Release form is filled out via the participant’s FIRST Account accessed through https://www.firstinspires.org/ (top right “Register / Login”).
2. ADDITIONALLY: FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form which can now be filled out electronically through Smart Waiver.
   • English version: FIRST in Michigan Consent and Release Form (English)
   • Spanish version: FIRST in Michigan Consent and Release Form (Spanish).

Check your team’s form status: Coaches can now check their teams FIRST in Michigan Consent and Release form submission status by visiting the site page below. This site page has only been shared with the Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 for each team. CheckFiM FTC Waiver Status: https://firstinmichigan.us/FTC/fim-ftc-waiver-status/

Youth team members:

• All youth team members must register with FIRST HQ through the Youth Registration System.
  • This process includes the ability for the parent/guardian to electronically sign the FIRST HQ Consent/Release form.
• Additionally, must ALSO have a completed FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form submitted. Please share the above FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form links with the parent/guardian of your team members.

Coaches and Mentors:

• Each team is required to have a Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and Lead Coach/Mentor 2 listed on the Team Dashboard.
  • Coaches and mentors register with FIRST HQ through the FIRST Dashboard.
  • This process includes the ability to electronically sign the FIRST HQ Consent/Release form.
  • Both Lead Coach/Mentor 1 and 2 must complete the FIRST Youth Protection Policy (YPP) background screening process.
• Must ALSO complete the FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form electronically.

On an exception-only basis: We recognize that not all teams have the necessary internet access to complete the online registration process.

• Team Lead Coach/Mentor 1 or 2 may request a paper copy form of both the FIRST and FIRST in Michigan consent and release forms from their FIRST in Michigan program director.
• Per FIRST HQ, once signed, the only approved methods for the collection of these forms are to either drop them off in person or mail them first-class to your FIRST in Michigan program director. Scans, pictures, emailing of completed forms are strictly prohibited per the FIRST Data Protection Policy.
• Please allow extra time for mailing to ensure that your forms will be received and processed by FIRST in Michigan in advance of your team’s event.

Excerpted from the FIRST Innovation Challenge presented by QUALCOMM Guide:

• In 2006, the Nintendo® slogan ‘Experience a new way to play’ took the world by storm as it introduced the Nintendo Wii. Game developers and engineers developed a revolutionary new game controller that worked in three dimensions and allowed users of all ages to be active while playing a video game. This solution won the Game Critics Awards for Best Hardware. When coupled with the new software and accessories, it had people off their couches engaging in everything from bowling and dance competitions to tennis and go-kart driving.
• For tracking athletic performance, the stopwatch was once one of the few pieces of measuring technology available. Now, companies are refining wearable tech, but athletes have a rapidly growing number of sophisticated options from smart clothing to advanced wearable tech. These have ushered in a new age of performance tracking with metrics such as position, distance, velocity, and acceleration. Heads-Up Display (HUD) cycling glasses are an example of one piece of sports tracking equipment that helps cyclists make mid-ride adjustments when competing, not to mention enhances overall safety.
• In 2019, a FIRST® LEGO® League team invented a community sports field that used LED lights to light up fields in different patterns, allowing for the instant and seamless changing of demarcation lines for different types of sports play.

Teams who participate in the FiM FTC Innovation Challenge will:

1. Identify and define a problem or opportunity,
2. Brainstorm and design an innovation to seize the opportunity or solve the problem,
   • The innovation can be entirely new or may significantly improve an existing invention.
   • Document your process.
3. Create a Summary Document with written and visual descriptions of your team’s Innovation Challenge idea/solution.
   • The Summary document is uploaded as part of the submission process.
   • The Summary Document should be between 1-3 pages. Format for uploading is pdf only.
4. Create a presentation “pitch” of the team’s solution in ONE of three ways:
   • Document-format presentation (Word or Powerpoint for example).
   • Video presentation
   • Virtual presentation to a 2 member FIRST in Michigan panel of reviewers via a video conferencing platform

The Summary Document must be between 1-3 pages. Format for uploading is pdf only. The team’s Summary Document should include the following 3 content areas.

1) Title of the team’s Innovation Challenge project.

• Title must include the team number.

2) Brief team introduction/description.

• Introduce your team, affiliation, location.
• Use first names only when referring to or identifying minors.
• If including pictures/links to video of team members, each person appearing in a picture/video must have a FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form on file prior to uploading the team’s submission.
• The team logo and sponsor recognition may be included as part of the team description.

3) Innovation Challenge solution/innovation content.

• What’s the problem/opportunity you’ve chosen to address?
  • Describe the problem/opportunity the team chose to address.
• Tell us why your solution/innovation is amazing!
  • Describe your team’s idea/solution.
    • Include written and visual descriptions.
    • Include any use of technology in either the solution itself or the development of the solution.
  • Include the impact of your idea.
• How are you going to make it happen?
  • Identify your stakeholders (customers, investors, partners, etc.),
  • Develop a simple financial model (costs, pricing, profit)
  • How you will market/promote your idea.

Resources:

• Creating a Business Pitch that Stands Out (link), courtesy of Seed Spot
• Guide to Writing a Business Plan (link), courtesy of bizkids.com
• FIRST HQ Innovation Challenge content series: https://info.firstinspires.org/innovation-content-series
• “Brainstorming” workshop resources as presented by Dan Champoux, a FiM FLL coach. Totally applicable for FTC/FRC teams and super applicable for those working on the Innovation Challenge.
  • Video: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtdbA5N9FlPOh-MdM2ZCn6nrUiYT7g?e=DWZgAd
  • Presentation and innovation tools: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o79yb_46pmdi0kDEHpIFf8SsBBHEObms?usp=sharing

Think of the presentation as a “pitch” for your team’s innovation that you are delivering to potential stakeholders (investors, partners, customers, etc.).

If your presentation includes pictures/video of people, each person appearing in a picture/video must have a FIRST in Michigan Consent/Release form on file prior to uploading the team’s submission.

Choose one of the three presentation options outlined below:

1) Document Presentation format:

• Minimum of one page/slide; maximum of 5 pages/slides.
• Format is pdf only. Documents developed in Powerpoint or Google Docs/Slides must be in pdf format prior to uploading.

2) Video Presentation format

• Team submits a 3-5 minute video of students presenting their Innovation Challenge. Videos may be submitted in .MP4 or .MOV format.

3) Virtual  Presentation format:

• Team can choose to present in a 10 minute virtual session to a FIRST in Michigan panel of reviewers.
  • Students will present for 3-5 minutes, followed by the reviewers asking questions for the remaining time.
• The virtual session will be scheduled on Zoom
• The Lead Coach/Mentors for the team will be sent the team’s presentation time and Zoom link.
• Presentation sessions will occur between May 3 and May 15.
• Teams will be able to indicate presentation date/timeframe preferences on the submission form.
  • Available time slots will be as follows (dependent upon the availability of the reviewers):
    • Weekday late afternoon (3-5pm)
    • Weekday early evening (6-8pm)
    • Saturday morning (10am-noon)
    • Saturday afternoon (1pm-3pm)

Every team participating in the FiM FTC Innovation Challenge must fill out a submission form entry.

Submission deadlines: Dependent upon the presentation option that is chosen.

• Wednesday, April 28 by 5pm If the team is choosing to do a virtual presentation to a panel of reviewers. The virtual presentation (via Zoom) will be scheduled for May.
• Wednesday, May 19 by 5pm if the team is choosing document-style or video presentation submission.

Submit one form per team. For teams working in collaboration, one form should be submitted by each team in the collaboration.

The following information is needed to complete the form:

• Team number
• Contact information for coach/mentor submitting form
• Team Participation Roster; required element. Download roster template.
• Innovation Challenge project title
• Summary Document; required element
• Presentation option: choose one; required element
  • Document-style presentation submission
  • Video presentation submission
  • Virtual presentation review; will be conducted via Zoom; form will prompt for review date/time preferences.
• All teams must use the submission form. No submissions will be accepted by email.

The FiM FTC Innovation Challenge submission form is open and linked below:

FiM FTC Innovation Challenge Submission form (click link)

Submission deadlines: Dependent upon the presentation option that is chosen.

• Wednesday, April 28 If the team is choosing to do a virtual presentation to a panel of reviewers. The virtual presentation (via Zoom) will be scheduled for May.
• Wednesday, May 19 if the team is choosing document-style or video presentation submission.

If your team is having difficulty using the Google form for the submission, please email your submission documents to tammy@firstinmichigan.org by the due date. Include your FTC team number in the subject line of the email.