Young Jewish Innovators Challenge 5787

1. The Young Jewish Innovators Challenge is for 9th and 10th grade students in Chicago Orthodox community high schools. There is a boys and girls division in the program.
2. Students must complete registration and submit completed waivers before the start of the program.
3. Participants or their parents must check their email frequently for relevant and timely contest communications from yjic@walderlab.org (make sure this address does not go to spam). Any updates in scheduling or contest procedures will be emailed, and participants will be responsible to adhere to them. If a participant lacks email access, please let us know upon registration and we will be happy to make other arrangements for communication.
4. All workshops will take place at Walder Science at 3050 W. Touhy, or specified field trip sites.
5. The $50 registration fee must be paid by Monday, October 12, 2026. If the student does not continue in the program after this point, the registration cannot be refunded. The program fee includes books, supplies, admissions, transportation costs and meals.
6. Information and links to the assignments will be distributed at workshops and posted on the YJIC website. Access will be granted upon the completion of registration and acceptance to the program.
7. Supervised design mentoring assistance and computer lab access on filtered computers is available by appointment. Please email yjic@walderlab.org, call 773-649-5358 or speak to the director to set up times.
8. All students who complete the contest and all its requirements receive a certificate and a letter of completion, which can be highlighted on a job resume or a college application.

1. Academic and scientific integrity are requisite.
2. Safety measures and protocols must be followed.
3. Proper classroom decorum is expected.
4. All entries must be the contestants’ original work. If the submission is an extension of existing work, citations and attributions must be made. Projects that were used in a past presentation or other competitions will not be considered. Mentors, teachers, parents, etc. may ONLY guide the students, but may not execute or create any part of the submission. All contestants must comply with both the contest rules and the AI rules outlined in the document attached.
5. Participants will be scored on a total of points earned from attendance and participation at four sessions, two field trips, independent work (readings, videos, assignments, innovation journal), completion of a Slideshow presentation and Oral Presentation of their innovation.
6. Participants are responsible to complete all school obligations due to field trip attendance in this program.
7. Assignments are due on announced due dates. Deductions will be made for assignments submitted late.
8. Details of the slideshow and oral presentation submission requirements, deadlines and rubrics are available at https://walderlab.org/innovators
9. All parts of submissions must be in English. If a language other than English is used, an English translation must follow in parenthesis.
10. For the final project, participants must work in teams of 2 or 3 students. Team member names must be submitted in writing or by email by Wednesday, December 30, 2026 11:59 pm Central Time. If a member drops out, replacements are not allowed after this deadline.
11. If you wish to have your slide presentation reviewed in advance of the due date, make a request of the director for arrangements.
12. The innovation journal must be handed to the YJIC Director or other designated person and the final project slideshow must be submitted electronically by 11:59 pm on February 17, 2027, Central Time. No late submissions will be allowed.
13. Participant entries may be disqualified if any rules are not followed. Disqualification of contestants is up to the sole discretion of Walder Science YJIC contest.

1. There are a total of 270 points in this challenge. Points are earned through participation at sessions, field trips and submission of independent study assignments (120 points), an innovation journal, and an Innovation Presentation (150 points).
2. Score calculation = The total points awarded to each team member/the number of team members.
3. The team with the highest number of points will win first prize. The team with the second highest-number of points will win second prize, etc.
4. Participants who present at the Evening of Innovation and earn a total of 190 points or more are eligible to attend the culminating trip. Details to follow.

1. First prize is $400 for each team member
2. Second prize is $300 for each team member
3. Third prize is $200 for each team member