Mentor Graphics University Design Contest 2012
Call for Participation
This is the Third Mentor Graphics University Design contest 2012 in India. The focus of this contest is to provide an opportunity for engineering students to showcase their technical talent and competency using Mentor Graphics tools. We expect to grow this contest with increased representation & participation, and draw maximum number of contestants for the contest.
- Nahla Zohdy, Mentor Graphics Egypt
- Rajeev Sehgal, Mentor Graphics India
- Veeresh Shetty, Mentor Graphics India
Contact email: u2u_india@mentor.com
Mentor Graphics University Design Contest?
This competitive design contest is aimed at :
- Provide an opportunity for engineering students from different technology streams to participate in the contest and demonstrate their technical capabilities, problem solving, project management and design skills in a contest against their peers.
- Provide all participants with new perspectives on how design teams from different disciplines and different regions of the country approach a common design problem.
- Provide engineering students with a chance to meet experts to showcase and present their ideas, and also network with fellow participants to discuss newer ideas of working on a project.
Awards
The top three winners of the University Design Contest will earn a Certificate of Recognition. There will be one Winner team followed by two runner-up teams.
The winning team will be awarded a cash prize of US$3000.
1st Runner-up – US$2000.
2nd Runner-up – US$1000.
Project Proposal - The Design Problem
The project implementation is on two stages; the first stage will be designing a digital access control circuit with the controller specifications as mentioned below, the design will be by creating VHDL or Veilog code, verifying the design using the OVM methodology. After verification, synthesis is needed to get the output gate-level netlist. Based on the output gate level netlist, search for and choose the discrete components within the Egypt market. Buying components is not requested only mentioning the chosen components datasheets.
The second stage is designing PCB schematic and layout for the whole system, Controller, keypad, needed decoders and timers ( using the chosen discrete components) keeping in mind that there are two outputs, Green LED when the door open and Red LED when alarm is triggered
For detailed description about the project, kindly click on the Project Description doc below :
The Contest Design & Structure
The contest follows a three stage process. Each stage will focus on communicating the team's ideas through a different channel, as follows:
- Teams will submit a short project paper (10 pages maximum) describing their solution to the project proposal. University Design Contest Technical committee will review and evaluate all the submissions. A maximum of 10 teams will be selected for the next stage.
- Shortlisted teams will be expected to send a presentation outlining the entire description. The proposed solution will be reviewed by the University Design Contest Technical committee. The Technical committee will select 5 teams for the final selection/ranking.
- The 5 finalists will be rated based on their proposed solution/design to the technical committee. Based on the criteria below, the competition judges will rank and identify an overall winner of the competition and one runner-up team.
Steps to Enter
Stage 1: Preparation and Submission of Paper/Project
Teams should prepare a paper/solution document (10 pages maximum) written in the Extended Abstracts format. This document should be submitted as a single PDF by September 20th, 2012, to u2u_india@mentor.com or at www.mentor.com/india. The file must be no larger than 5 Mb in size.
This paper must include:
- Description of the proposed solution, including the approach taken and the design process followed
- Any reference to design principles and theory where appropriate
- Appropriate imagery to illustrate the design solution
- Acknowledgement of any assistance drawn from outside the team (advisors, faculty, domain experts, existing solutions, users, etc.)
- Acknowledgement of partial or incomplete solutions
All submissions must be in English and must include title and author information, including the contact details. Please be sure that submissions do not contain proprietary or confidential material and do not cite proprietary or confidential publications. The submitted PDF version will be considered the final version of the paper.
Stage Two: Poster Presentation
Only 10 shortlisted submissions will be invited for the second stage of the contest based on the technical committee’s rating and judgment. Teams should send their presentation within the stipulated timeline and format.
Teams will be expected to host their presentation and discuss their approach, design method and solutions with the Technical committee if required. The Technical committee will thereafter select 5 teams to present orally present their proposed solutions.
Specific guidelines for preparing presentations :
- Each presentation should not have more than 15 slides.
- Audiovisual and computing equipment will be supplied. Power outlets will be available.
The presentation must include:
- The proposed solution's name, team name, University/College affiliation
- The perspective taken to address the Project/Design challenge
- A concise description of the proposed solution
- Clear illustrations of key aspects of your proposed solution
- Compelling, effective visual design
Final Stage: Paper/Project Presentation
Five teams selected following the Presentations will present their design process and solution during a short presentation to the Technical committee. Presentations will be limited to 45 minutes plus a subsequent 15 minutes to answer questions from the judges and audience.
Presentations must include:
- The design process that was followed
- A concise description of the proposed solution
- Reference to design principles and theory where appropriate
- Acknowledgement of partial or incomplete solutions
- Reviewing Criteria
Mentor Graphics EDA Software will be used for the different stages of the design.
- HDL Designer for Design Entry
- Questa for simulation and verification
- Leonardo Spectrum for Synthesis
- PADS for PCB schematic and Layout design.
Participation
Team/College/University Requirements
Teams must consist of at least two, but no more than five, students. There is no limit to the number of teams that may compete from any given University.
Submissions are invited from all students at all stages of their university careers, from undergraduate to post-graduate. The University/College should be Mentor Graphics Higher Education Program(HEP) Partner. All submissions should have the proof of Mentor Graphics tool/technology usage.
Student Proof Status/Verification
To be eligible for the contest, all participants must provide a signed letter from their academic supervisor. All students must provide proof of their student status on or before the deadline of 15 September, 2012.