Hong Kong Blockchain Olympiad 2023 – Rules for Secondary Track

Read me if you are competing in HKBCOL 2023

The International Blockchain Olympiad is an annual competition for all students. Please note that the Hong Kong Blockchain Olympiad has slightly different definitions from the International Blockchain Olympiad and slightly different eligibility for secondary- and tertiary-level contestants. Also please take note of the dates and requirements for submissions.

Eligibility

  1. Students* only: An individual who would have been a current student until 3 years ago as of the beginning of the 2022-2023 Season (5 July 2020 to 4 July 2023).
  2. Student: An individual is actively enrolled in a secondary academic institution (Current secondary-level students).
  3. No age limit: A current student is defined as a person of any age that is enrolled in a recognized secondary.
  4. Team Manager / Teacher Coordinator: A secondary student team or a team without any members that are 18 years old or older must have a team manager that is 18 years old or older.
  5. Returning Participation: Previous individuals are eligible to compete.
  6. Representation: An individual may be born in Hong Kong, attend educational institutions within Hong Kong, or hold Hong Kong citizenship.
  7. Team Composition: Projects are submitted by teams of one (1) to six (6) eligible individuals from same secondary schools (“school team”) or from different schools (“freelance team”); Each team shall have one adult (18+) supervisor, as the auxiliary contact person. Maximum 10 teams per school.
  8. Team Uniqueness: Each team must be 100% unique, i.e. one person, one team.
  9. Returning Participation: Previous teams are eligible to compete.
  10. Representation: Each school team must have students who are all from the same secondary school in Hong Kong; each freelance team may have students from different secondary schools in Hong Kong.
  11. One Team, One Project: A team may submit only one project to compete.
  12. Returning Participation: Previous projects that have not won any awards from prior IBCOL competitions are eligible to compete in IBCOL.

Specification of Submissions

There will be 3 rounds of submission. Outstanding teams from Round 1 will proceed to enter Round 2 and Round 3. Please note that only qualified submissions will proceed to the next round of submission.

Content Format
Survey

Round: 1
Deadline:
21 July 2023 		The survey consists of 8 questions that guide the description of what the complete blockchain solution is. Answers may be multilingual but English must be present. If there are differences, the English version shall prevail. Below is the survey:

  1. Describe your solution in 1 sentence.
  2. Write an abstract of your solution in 2023 characters or less.
  3. What value or problem is your solution adding or solving?
  4. How does your solution work?
  5. What differentiates your solution from competitors or alternatives?
  6. What features, benefits, and impact does your solution have?
  7. What are potential risks and mitigations?
  8. What are critical success factors?
  • The survey shall be submitted as a Notion page (use this template) and as a paper in IEEE format (use this paper sample). Optional proposals can be uploaded, such as deck, paper, etc.
  • PDF only; Provide PDF via link (Please ensure file sharing option is set as Public)
Video

Round: 2
Deadline:
18 Aug 2023
  • The video shall be a 2-3 minutes presentation, and the content may be multilingual, but English must be one of the languages. Speech must be in English, or if an exception is granted, must be subtitled in English.
  • Students may use these 3 minutes to present your project any way you like. For example, it could be a deck presentation or talking heads or a creative production.
 Youtube link of an unlisted video
Poster Board

Round: 3
Deadline:
6 Sep 2023 		The poster board will be a research poster to showcase at the IBCOL Finals, and may be multilingual, but English must be present. If there are differences, the English version shall prevail.
  • PDF only; Provide PDF via link (Please ensure file sharing option is set as Public)
  • Print out will be required for HK Blockchain Olympiad 2023 (Secondary) Final Presentation; print out dimension to be confirmed
  • Recommended [IEEE style] or US Science Fair style.
  • Lichtenberg ratio(√2:1); recommend A0 or A1
  • Prepare a portrait version (required) and a landscape version (recommended).
Team Profile

Round: 3
Deadline:
6 Sep 2023
  • The team profile shall include 3-4 sentences and photo for each team member
  • Team member CV (recommended)
  • PDF files; Provide PDF via link (Please ensure file sharing option is set as Public)

Adjudication Criteria

Adjudicators will be evaluating projects based on the completeness, cohesiveness and conciseness of the solution design. Adjudication Criteria is the same for all, but the weighting distribution will be different based on the medium / format.

Criteria Guidelines Survey Video Poster
Completeness The project solves the problem or adds value.
The complete solution proposal should be able to articulate the problem statement, solution overview, implementation plan, and its potential impact. 		35%
10% 55%
Cohesiveness The presented materials make sense altogether.
A cohesive solution proposal should provide a clear, integrated, and comprehensive overview of the proposed solution, such as the integration of technical and non-technical components. The proposal should have a logical flow, with each element building on the previous one and leading to a clear understanding of the proposed solution.		 50% 50% 35%
Conciseness The presented material is straight-to-the-point.
The conciseness of a solution proposal refers to the extent to which the proposal is clear, precise, and to the point, with no unnecessary information or details. A concise proposal should provide all the necessary information about the proposed blockchain solution in a clear and succinct manner, without unnecessary elaboration or repetition.		 15% 40% 10%
Total 100% 100% 100%

Key Dates

KeyDates Hong Kong Blockchain Olympiad
Dates Description
Thursday 11 May 2023 Online Briefing Session (Open Application)
Friday 21 July 2023 Round 1 submission deadline
Friday 18 Aug 2023 Round 2 submission deadline
Wednesday 6 Sep 2023 Round 3 submission deadline
Saturday 9 Sep 2023 Exhibition cum Ceremony
Note: Deadlines is the calendar date up to 23:59 (midnight minus one; GMT+8 Hong Kong Time).

Awards

The prizes for the Hong Kong Blockchain Olympiad 2023 (Secondary Track) are as follows:

  1. Gold Medal (Project with 1st Highest Overall Score)
  2. Silver Medal (Project with 2nd Highest Overall Score)
  3. Bronze Medal (Project with 3rd Highest Overall Score)
  4. Award of Distinction (Project with the 4th to 10th Highest Overall Score)
  5. Award of Merit (Project with the 11th to 20th Highest Overall Score)
Top 10 teams will be proceeded to Greater Bay Area Blockchain Olympiad 2023.
Selected top teams will be proceeded to International Blockchain Olympiad 2023 in Amsterdam.