How Many Students Are Being Invited To Consider Going To Intel ISEF?

 YSF funds its Team Canada operation from external corporate donations.  A team of 10 students, plus 3 support staff, including a fair director, male/female chaperones, typically  travel to the Intel ISEF in May. Should YSF fail to raise sufficient funds to cover all operational expenses, a smaller team will be selected.

     Is The Trip All Expenses Paid?

YSF will provide all registration, travel, shipping expenses and accommodation costs, and will have an experienced team of chaperons on hand. Depending on your home, you may need to fly to the Intel ISEF  on your own, and be met there by one of the chaperons.   All students who are selected will need to ensure that they acquire Canadian passports or visas to enter the United States. They will have to purchase their own health insurance while out of
Canada. It is recommended that students bring extra funds for incidentals.

 How Are Students Selected To Go?

Students are required to submit a video, either on VHS, a CD that is viewable by Windows Media Player or DVD, a five-page report and completed application forms by the deadline to be considered for Team Canada.  The Scientific Review Committee is responsible for reviewing all videos and documentation to select a team of students for competition.

Special care is taken to ensure that all submissions are carefully assessed, but it should be understood that this is a competition and only a limited number of students will be able to participate.  The number of participants is determined by the funds available.

 The Scientific Review Committee is comprised of academic specialists from scientific and technological fields who can adequately determine the quality of work presented.  The Team Canada  Director, the National Judge in Chief  and Executive Director, YSF, also participate in the selection process.

 What Are The Parameters for the Video?

The presentation should contain:

• The title of the project
• The aim of the project
• The objectives
• The methods you used
• The results
• The conclusions you have drawn

Feel free to include graphs and charts, footage of you doing or replicating portions of your research, and any equipment, materials or locations of importance that is relevant to your project.  If you wish, you may address the camera with your project display already set up.

Label your Video with your name, project title and telephone number.

 Can I send my CWSF Project?

The Intel ISEF Rules state that projects will be judged on work carried out during a maximum and continuous 12 month period between January and May of the following year.  This means that a project started in January 2005, exhibited at the CWSF in May 2005, can be continued up to December 2005, and then submitted to the Intel ISEF in May 2006. 

This rule is strictly enforced by the Intel ISEF and all projects are carefully screened to ensure that the work falls within the rules. Be sure that you can document, via your project notes, that you did your project in a twelve month period. If the project is a continuation of a previous project, in-depth documentation on the previous project will be required, and the current project must show substantial new work.

 Which Forms Need To Be Signed Before Research Begins?

This is described on the Application Page

 Where can I get Help to Make Sure I am Following the Intel ISEF Rules?

 

Projects involving Humans, Non-Human Vertebrae Animals, Recombinant DNA, Pathogens,  Controlled Substances, Human/ Animal Tissue:
Deidre Date	Director, Team Canada	deidre.date@medtronic.com	905-579-3084
Patrick Whippey	Member, SRC	pwhippey@uwo.ca	(519) 657-8841

 When will I be notified of the results?

Should I apply to both the Intel ISEF and the Canada Wide Science Fair?

Yes. We expect that all students who enter the Team Canada competition will also enter their Regional Science Fair, ensuring that all unsuccessful applicants for Team Canada have the opportunity to compete for a place at the CWSF. The decision on which students and projects represent a region at the CWSF rests solely with the Regional Science Fair Committee.

   Can I participate in the Canada Wide Science Fair if I am selected for
          Team Canada?

YSF Canada permits students selected for Team Canada to compete at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.. It will be possible to attend both fairs in 2006. We will be unable to ship projects from ISEF to the CWSF in 24 hours, so you will have to have two complete backboards.

 Can I Work With a New Partner Who Has Not Yet Participated at The National Level?

Yes, as long as one of the team members has participated at the National Level, so that the team is aware of what is expected and the project meets competitive standards.

 Dates of the Intel ISEF.

2006 Intel ISEF - Indianapolis, Indiana, May 7–13, 2006
2007 Intel ISEF - Albuquerque, New Mexico - May 13-19, 2007
2008 Intel ISEF - Atlanta, Georgia, May 11–17, 2008
2009 Intel ISEF - Reno, Nevada, May 10–16, 2009
2010 Intel ISEF - San Jose, California, May 9–15, 2010

 Email and Web Access

These are almost a necessity these days, if you are going to do a high level science project.  Where can you get email and web access if you do not have it at home?  We suggest that you try to find someone who will allow you to use their email address, and pass on the messages when necessary, as well as let you access the web occasionally.  We will use email and the web to pass on information to you.

• Contact your local web guru at school.
• Contact your local service club.  The Optimists in London were one of the original sponsors of the London District Fair, and have always been willing to help out.
• Contact a local computer store, and see if they will provide services for you.  They are in effect one of your sponsors.
• Try your local library.
• Try your local community college.

 Do I have to finish my project by the time my Video is due?

No.  We realize that on the decision date,  most students will still have work to do on the project.  We will, however, base our decision solely on scientific merit based on the video and the report.

 Who is eligible to apply to Team Canada?

Any student  in grades 9 to 12 or CEGEP I or II in Quebec, and who has not reached the age of 21 on May 1 is eligible to attend that year's International Fair.  All individual applicants, and at least one member of a group application, to Team Canada must have either (a) previously attended at least one Canada Wide Science Fair or (b) attended at least one national Aventis Biotechnology Challenge event - see below.

   Are Projects that participated in the Aventis Biotechnology Challenge eligible?

Yes. YSF Canada will accept an application from participants who have competed in the Aventis Biotechnology Challenge, and been selected to attend the national competition. Projects may have a maximum of three participants, as required by the Intel ISEF rules. If a team of three is selected, YSF Canada will fund the cost of two participants, the maximum allowed under CWSF rules. The team will be required to fund the third member.

 How are the Invitations Made?

We send an email letter of invitation to all elligible students who attended the previous CWSF. If you attended a CWSF in a previous year, please consider this your personal invitation.

Can I compete for a place at the Intel ISEF both through Team Canada
      and my Provincial or Regional Science Fair?

Students may not apply both to YSF Canada and to their Regional or Provincial organization. In addition to YSF Canada, some Regional Science Fairs and Provincial Science Fairs affiliate with the Intel ISEF and choose their own students. In a given year, students may enter only one competition to attend ISEF.

 Superior Projects Only Please

The Selection Committee has found that we can properly evaluate between thirty and forty applications in the time available, and this is less than one application from every two Regions in Canada.  We respectfully ask that only those projects which are candidates for Gold and Silver Medals at the Canada Wide Science Fair apply to Team Canada.  This will allow us to do a thorough evaluation of each project.  Thank you.

 Project Summary

Prepare a project summary that is concise, clear, and of the highest quality.  It is a key part of the judging process. It

• is no more than 5 pages (8.5" x 11") long - graphs, diagrams, and charts may be included in the allotted space. (No raw data or raw observations).  Appendices are not acceptable.
• is printed, double spaced and is written on only one side of each sheet of paper in 12 point pitch.
• includes the following:

            -  background, purpose and hypothesis (why the project was done)
            -  procedure (very brief outline of the significant materials  and methods used).
            -  results and conclusions (no raw data or raw data are to be included)
            -  acknowledgments (recognition of those who provided significant assistance in the form of 
            -  guidance, materials and facilities). 
            -  a footer in 8 point pitch giving the date, your name, the title, and the page number. Here is an example:
                28 Feb 2006                                        Peter White: Sound is a Blast                         Page 1 of 5

These instructions are almost identical to those used for the Canada Wide Science Fair