Intel Leibniz Challenge

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The Intel Leibniz Challenge was a nationwide student competition by Intel in cooperation with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover in Hanover and the D21 initiative , which was offered for grades 9 to 13. The tasks include the subject areas of computer science and electrical engineering. The Intel Leibniz Challenge took place for the first time in 2007. On November 3rd, 2013 it was announced that the competition will not be continued for the time being.

conditions

The participating groups had to solve a total of four complex tasks in the field of IT and electrical engineering, for which they each had one month. As a rule, they did not have any prior knowledge and first had to familiarize themselves with the topic. The goals were:

  • Practical relevance
  • Ability to work in a team, wide group of participants and networking
  • Use of the Internet
  • Added value for students and teachers in class
  • High acceptance of the tasks and perseverance of the participants
  • sustainability

Each of the four tasks had a different topic (see competition years ). Two of four tasks consisted partly of building a circuit from a kit sent free of charge according to instructions. The structure of the circuit was included in the evaluation. From the 2010 competition on, teams made up of participants from different federal states or cities far away received each team member their own kit.

Competition years

Each year of the competition had a different motto and included different tasks.

2009

  • "Computers are useless ... without software" (programming two random generator programs)
  • "Measure without errors" (current and voltage measurements on resistors)
  • "Digital technology - circuit optimization - finite automatons" (development of a traffic light circuit)
  • "Data transmission - error detection - correction" (development of a parity generator)

2010

  • "Chip design" (finding defects in microchips, functionality of microchips)
  • "From vibrations to radio reception" (construction of a simple radio)
  • " CMOS technology"
  • "Microcontroller" (construction of a thermometer)

2011 Renewable Energies and Green IT

  • "Wind and solar energy" (tasks on various regenerative forms of energy)
  • "From the sun to the PC" (building a data logger and transferring the data to the PC using Morse code)
  • "Energy-efficient circuits ... for a green (IT) world"
  • "Energy efficiency in generation, storage and consumption"

2012 inspiration, microcontroller, entertainment

  • "The world of microcontrollers"
  • "Programming the microcontroller" (building an alarm clock)
  • "Computer mouse as an application example for the microcontroller"
  • "Microcontroller as a game console" (programming the game Four wins )

2013 weather, software, microcontroller

  • "Weather - Origin and Influence"
  • "Weather recording" (construction of a weather station)
  • "Rain and Humidity"
  • "Air pressure, wind ... weather station" (completion of the weather station)

Scoring system

Each task consisted of four parts, each with a maximum of 10 points, i.e. a total of 40 points. In the overall evaluation, the results of the best three submissions were 100% and those of the worst 40%, whereby a team could achieve up to 136 points. In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the lowest sum of the submission times of the solutions decided.

organization

Until 2009, the project was managed by Dieter Lohse from Leibniz University Hannover . Employees from the university and employees from Intel make up the ILC team. The patron of the event was the chairman of the conference of ministers of education .

For the “Intel Leibniz Challenge 2010” competition, for which schoolchildren were able to register from November 2009, Thomas Jambor will be responsible for project management. Tina Müller has been responsible for project coordination since 2010.

criticism

In the Intel Leibniz Challenge 2008, five teams achieved the maximum possible number of points. Since no more prizes than planned could be awarded at short notice, the rating system had to be changed one week before the award ceremony.

The organizers particularly praised the strong networking of the participants on the Internet and the forum set up for this purpose. The competition participants also had the opportunity to ask questions about the tasks. The answers to these questions, however, were often unqualified. Furthermore, the ILC 2009 forum was closed during the course of the competition without giving any reason.

Many teams found the evaluation of their solutions to be unfair. Solutions that deviated from the sample solutions but actually met the requirements were rated as incorrect. The problem is that the correctors do not provide any information about the reasons for the point deduction, even when asked.

The winners received study vouchers worth 250 euros. However, this voucher was only valid for Leibniz Universität Hannover. It was virtually worthless for participants outside of Lower Saxony.

Others

The achievements of the challenge could be included in the grading in different federal states as extracurricular achievements. This fact shows that the competition was one of the most important school competitions in Germany.

At the closing event, the most successful groups were rewarded with prizes such as notebooks and MP3 players. They were also able to win study vouchers at Leibniz University and trial internships at Intel .

Web links