Area high school students have until the end of the month to apply for an annual competition that could net them thousands of dollars in scholarships.
The seventh annual A.H. Nickless Innovation Award competition has opened registration for the first phase of the contest. Students have until Oct. 31 to apply.
The A.H. Nickless Innovation Award competition rewards students for coming up with real-life solutions to real-world problems. Projects are to address current issues while encouraging a passion for subjects in the STEM – or science, technology, engineering, and math – categories.
Examples for competition include, but are not limited to, challenges of alternative energy, molecular biology, automotive engineering, computer science, and many, many more.
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High school students 13 to 18 years old, and from Bay, Midland, Saginaw, and Tuscola counties, are encouraged to form teams to compete.
Students have until Oct. 31 to apply in Phase One of the competition. Teams are asked to submit two-page proposals detailing the project. Then in November, a panel of experts will select the top 20 projects. Those teams will then each receive $1,000 to develop their projects over the course of Phase Two, which ends March 31.
A final event will be held on April 18, at Saginaw Valley State University. There, teams will present final projects for the chance to win thousands of dollars in scholarships.
This year’s first-place winning team will receive up to five, $5,000 scholarships for members. Second place receives up to five, $2,500 scholarships for members. Third place receives up to five, $1,000 scholarships for members.
The top three teams will also win STEM education grants for their schools, with the first-place school winning $20,000, the second-place school winning $10,000, and the third-place school winning $5,000.
The A.H. Nickless Innovation Award is presented by the Nickless Family Charitable Foundation, which has awarded $432,000 in scholarships and grants since first starting the competition.
Visit the A.H. Nickless Innovation Award online for further registration information.
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