The Rice Cleantech Innovation Competition will consist of 2 rounds. Round 1 will be conducted virtually, with teams submitting their presentation materials online. On Sunday, October 20, 2024, the top 5 scoring teams will receive invitations to compete in the second round in person at Rice University.

Round 2 of the competition will take place on Thursday, November 14, 2024, in the Shell Auditorium at the Jones Graduate School of Business. It will consist of a 25-minute presentation, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session with the panel of judges. The winners will be announced the next day during an award ceremony held as part of the programming at the Rice Energy Finance Summit (RCIC).

Schools can enter with teams consisting of a minimum of four and a maximum of five members. Each team member must be currently enrolled as full-time or professional MBA student or other graduate student, with at least three of the members being currently enrolled MBA students as previously described. There are no specific requirements regarding the number of first or second-year students. Participating teams must submit the team’s name, school represented, team participants, and resumes for each participant by September 22, 2024, 11:59pm CST.

Team composition must remain unchanged after case submission which will occur on or before the Sunday, October 13, 2024, 11:59pm CST deadline. Team members can be removed after this date, so long as a minimum of four team members are present for the live presentation portion of the competition.

The case will be distributed via email to each team’s main point of contact at approximately 12:00 pm (CST) Monday, September 23. Once the case is distributed, teams can prepare their case analysis and presentation materials. Presentations must be submitted in PowerPoint slide format (.PPTX). Presentations are due no later than 11:59 pm (CST) Sunday, October 13. Upon receiving the case submission, each team will receive a confirmation of receipt. It is important to note that once the submission is submitted on or before October 13 deadline, no additional changes can be made to the PowerPoint presentation. Each team should be ready to present the original version of their submitted presentation to the judges if they are invited to round 2. Please come prepared to share the presentation from your device using the original version.

While working on the case solution, it is strictly prohibited to seek assistance from individuals outside of the team. This includes engaging non-registered team members, other graduate school students, professors, and industry professionals; contacting companies, investors, firms, or school alumni; and plagiarizing. However, it is permissible to use open source materials or databases with access provided by your school (such as FactSet or PitchBook) are appropriate sources. Engaging in unauthorized assistance is prohibited and will result in disqualification from the competition. The presentation submission must consist of entirely original content generated by the registered team members, reflecting their own analysis. In addition, please cite sources used in the case submission at the end of the presentation.

If any questions arise after the case has been distributed on Monday, September 23, 2024, please submit them to the email address provided with the case prompt. Questions will be answered by our co-chairs within 24 hours. In situations where more complex questions may impact all teams, we reserve the right to consult with the judges, provided that the judges consider the answer essential for teams to solve the case and the case itself lacks sufficient information to address the issue independently.

Teams must choose a name that does not reference their school or school mascot in any way. Including school logos or any other school references on the team's presentation materials, including PowerPoint presentations, posters, clothing, and documents is strictly prohibited. Additionally, teams are not allowed to verbally reference their school affiliation during their presentation to the judges.

On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, presenting finalists teams will be assigned a presentation time for Thursday, November 14, 2024. We will email the team’s specific schedule in advance. Assignments will be randomized. The first presentation of round 2 will begin promptly at 10:00am CST.

Should one team member withdraw prior to submission of the competition PowerPoint, that team member can be replaced as long as the team continues to meet all competition requirements after the substitution.  If more than one team member withdraws prior to submission of the competition power point the team will be eliminated from the competition.

No team member substitutions will be allowed after the submission of the competition PowerPoint.

If the team is selected as a finalist and one team member is not physically present for the final presentation at Rice University, the team may continue in the competition if the team continues to meet all competition requirements with the remaining team members.  If two team members are not physically present for the final presentation, the team will be eliminated from the competition, and no award will be made to that team

In order to proceed with a substitution, the team captain needs to submit a “Request to Substitute a Team Member” to the RCIC organizing committee while keeping in mind the previously stated timeline.

Each presentation must strictly adhere to the provided time limit, with 25 minutes allotted for the presentation itself and 15 minutes for the Q&A session. During the last five minutes of the Q&A, judges will provide feedback to each team on their presentation. These timing guidelines will be strictly enforced to ensure the competition remains on schedule. Presentation time will be part of the judges evaluation criteria and it is highly recommended to practice effectively to make the best use the allocated presentation time. In addition, we ask the teams to arrive at least 10 minutes earlier than their presentation time to ensure we strictly adhere to the schedule. We strongly encourage every team member to actively participate with a speaking role in the presentation.

As mentioned in the section “Timeline,” the announcement of the top 5 teams will take place on Sunday, October 20, 2024. These teams will be responsible for arranging their transportation logistics to Rice University. Following round 2, the decisions and results made by the judges are final. Cash awards to the winning teams will be announced on Friday, November 15 at the Rice Energy Finance Summit. All RCIC participants may attend round 2 presentations (except finalists who have yet to present). There will be separate rooms for finalists who have yet to present. In addition, round 2 will be open to other interested parties, such as faculty, students, sponsors, parents, and friends if they choose to attend.

Following round 2 presentations, the results will be compiled and announced during the next day’s Rice Energy Finance Summit (REFS). All student finalist and judges are provided with a complimentary REFS ticket and are expected to be present for the awards ceremony. There will be cash prizes available to the top 5 teams.

Business professional attire is required on the day of the presentation in addition to the award ceremony (for all round 2 contestants).

There will be networking opportunities on Thursday, November 14 and Friday, November 15, 2024 after the conclusion of the Rice Energy Finance Summit. 

To bring more diversity and innovation to the Rice Cleantech Innovation Competition, the Rice Jones Graduate School of Business will be accepting entries from international universities on invites only.

The Rice Jones Graduate School of Business will not be able to support with travel arrangements and visas.

By entering the case competition teams are required to acknowledge and adhere to the provided rules and procedures. Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification from this competition and place the school on probation or inability to participate in future case competitions.

Topic: Building a Resilient Power Grid: Investing in Cleantech Solutions for Meeting Growing Energy
Date: November 14, 2024

Program  

Finalists:

• 1st Place: Dude, Where's My Carbon? (Emory University)
• 2nd Place: Grid Kids (Yale University)
• 3rd Place: Power Rangers (Rice University)
• 4th Place: Alternative Fools (University of Virginia)
• 5th Place: Clean Slate (University of Southern California)

Topic: Pathways for Industrial Decarbonization and Investment
Date: November 9-10, 2023

Program  Photos

Finalists:

• Aatel Energy (Yale University)
• Alternative Fools (University of Virginia)
• Emissions Impossible (Rutgers University)
• SustainaBattle (Rice University)
• The Decarbonauts (Emory University)

Topic: Investments in Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
Date: November 10, 2022

Program  Photos

Finalists:

1st Place: The Decarbonators (Rice University)
2nd Place: Emission Impossible (Rice University)
3rd Place: Windmillionaires (Emory University)
4th Place: The Deuterium’s (University of Michigan + Babson College)
5th Place: Carbon Reducers (University of California, Berkeley)