Rules & Procedures
General
Conference participation is limited to the first 32 teams to complete all the registration requirements by the time and day specified for the current year's event.
The competition will be structured in three stages: a regional round of four geographically-based leagues, each of eight teams; a semi final round of two leagues of four teams, two from each regional league and a championship round of four teams, two from each semi final round league. The composition of the regional leagues will be pre-assigned, based on the participating universities geographical location but the teams’ presentation order in each league will be chosen based on a random draw. Composition and presentation order of semi final and championship leagues will be chosen by random draw.
The dress for seminars and for non-presenters on day 1 of the championships is ‘corporate casual’, i.e., polo shirt, slacks and suitable footwear. Teams are encouraged to design their own SIFE polo or tee shirts and there will be a prize of $500 awarded at the Regional Round Awards Ceremony for the Best Team Tee/Polo shirt. The dress for presenters on day 1 and all participants on the final day is business attire, i.e., suit or jacket and slacks with shirt and tie (males), business suit or dress (females).
Conduct of the National Championships
The championships will be conducted in accordance with procedures and judged against criteria set by SIFE World Headquarters for use in the current operating year, and also with reference to information in the SIFE Global Handbook and Training Manual for the current year.
Mandatory reporting documents for SIFE International
The following reports must be submitted by all SIFE teams prior to the National Championships. The form a mandatory part of a team's registration and no team will be allowed to present if any of the three reports have not been received by 1 July in respect of the current year.
Active Team Sheet
This report must be submitted to SIFE World Headquarters by all SIFE teams prior to the National Championships. It must list the names of all active students and Faculty Advisors. If teams are unable to submit this form online, they must submit the form to SIFE Australia who will handle its submission to SIFE World HQ. All active teams must complete this sheet irrespective of whether or not they compete and it must be submitted by 1 July in each year to enable continued classifaction as an Active team.
Project Verification Form
This report provides an internal audit of projects. Commencing with the 2008 National Championships, all participating teams must submit a completed and signed Project Verification Form to SIFE Australia by or before 1 July in respect of the current year.
Team Data Sheet
This report provides key information on your team and its activities in the present academic year. The Team Data Sheet is submitted online by all SIFE teams. The information submitted will only be used by the SIFE organization and will not be shared with judges at the National Championships. It must be submitted by 1 July in respect of the current year.
Teams are required to supply all other materials and equipment needed for their presentations, including the required number of signed copies of their written report and team biographical details sheet (optional). The number or reports needed for each stage of the championships are:
- Registration 3
- Regional Round 12
- Semi Final Round 24
- Championship Round 36
Teams are advised to bring the following equipment:
- data projector
- laptop or notebook computer
- extension speakers if sound is required
Teams are permitted to bring and display materials, including banners, etc., but should remember the time constraints for setting up and knocking down such equipment. Nothing may be given to the judges apart from the Annual Report and the Team Roster.
Each Regional, Semi Final and Championship Round presentation will be conducted as follows:
- team is assembled outside venue, is announced and may then enter venue, distribute written reports and set up equipment - 7 minutes with a 1 minute warning
- presenters deliver oral and audio-visual report - 24 minutes [There is NO 1 minute warning]
- whole team takes questions from judges - 5 minutes
- team dismantles all of own equipment and returns room to starting condition - 1 minute
N.B. No rehearsal or practice in the venues ahead of competition is permitted.
Each Regional & Semi Final Round venue will be equipped with:
- one lectern and one projection screen
- one power source and power board
- one small table and chair for a-v equipment and operator
The Championship Round venue will be equipped as follows:
- one lectern, two integrated projectors and two projection screens
- two chairs at a-v system console for a-v operators
- an amplification system and one microphone per presenter
National Championship Awards and Prizes
All competing participants will be recognised with a medal and certificate of participation. Individual students who have completed 50 hours of work on SIFE projects may be nominated by their Faculty Advisor for the award of Certified SIFE Scholars as provided for in the on-line Team Registration. A $75,000 prize pool is available for distribution, together with medals and trophies. N.B. Prizes will only be paid by cheque which will only be drawn in the name of a SIFE team.
Meritorious Programs (two per Regional Round League)
Meritorious program award - a certificate and $1,000
Semi Final Round Leagues (all four teams not advancing to the Championship Round)
Meritorious program award - silver medals, a trophy and $1,500
Championship Round League
| Meritorious program award | - gold medals, a trophy and $2,000 (all four teams) |
| 1st Runners Up | - trophy in addition to medals and cash prize |
| Champion Team | - team and individual trophies, hold Woolworths Perpetual Shield for one year, Qantas Travel Award to attend 2008 SIFE World Cup plus accommodation, meals and uniforms to the value of $10,000. |
Sponsor and Individual Recognition Awards
Sponsors will receive recognition awards based on financial contribution. Individuals will receive awards which recognise personal endeavour, their contribution to the cause of SIFE Australia and their entrepreneurial skill and managerial accomplishments which serve as an inspiration to present and future generations of young Australians.
Awards will be presented at the Awards Ceremony to representatives of sponsor organisations or the individual concerned by selected students. Students chosen for this task will be briefed on their duties at the conclusion of the Regional Round Awards Ceremony on 11 July.
Judging Criteria
How effectively did the SIFE Team measure and demonstrate that they created economic opportunity for others by helping them:
- Understand how a market based economic system operates.
- Acquire the education and skills training needed to succeed in a dynamic, competitive global economy.
- Learn how to succeed as an entrepreneur and/or improve an existing business.
- Develop the personal financial management skills necessary to achieve financial independence.
- That long-term success and prosperity of a market economy, of businesses and of individuals, are dependent on ethical business practices.
- How successfully did the SIFE team develop and execute a strategy to ensure long-term sustainability of their team and educational programs?
Judging Criteria Interpretation
The following interpretations of the six criteria may be of assistance in assessing the degree of effectiveness with which a team or a project meets the specific criterion. These notes are not meant to be exhaustive and should only be seen as a guide.
1. Understand how a market based economic system operates.
Interpretation: This criterion is to encourage an understanding of the basic principles and concepts of market economics from a global perspective. This criterion can be fulfilled by teaching economic concepts such as the laws of supply and demand, opportunity costs, money and banking, the impact and benefits of trade, the effects of government intervention in markets, and comparisons of different types of economies, etc. Although some teams may choose to do so, completing an international project is not necessarily required to fulfill this criterion.
2. Acquire the education and skills training needed to succeed in a dynamic, competitive global economy.
Interpretation: This criterion is to help those being taught to focus on how they personally can succeed in a market economy. It can be fulfilled by teaching any one of a range of disciplines and skills, by providing guidance on how to select the best career, the need for the right education and training, and/or an understanding of the technological skills a person needs to be successful.
3. Learn how to succeed as an entrepreneur and/or improve an existing business.
Interpretation: This criterion is to encourage an understanding of the practical side of how entrepreneurs operate and succeed in a market economy. This criterion can be fulfilled by providing information/consulting services to help others start or improve a business or by helping children or adults learn basic entrepreneurial concepts. These lessons can be taught through traditional teaching methods in a classroom or other learning environments or by using business simulations or having those being taught gain the relevant knowledge by running businesses. This criterion is designed to encourage SIFE Teams to teach others about entrepreneurship - the degree to which a team meets this criterion should not be measured simply by how successful they were in their own fundraising ventures.
4. Develop the personal financial management skills necessary to achieve financial independence.
Interpretation: This criterion is to encourage SIFE students to teach others the fundamentals of financial literacy, in particular with an emphasis on an understanding of matters such as the responsible use of credit, of establishing life-long saving and investment habits to ensure that all reasonable material goals may be met, including in retirement.
5. That long-term success and prosperity of a market economy, of businesses and of individuals, are dependent on ethical business practices.
Interpretation: This criterion is to encourage SIFE students to teach the importance of sound business ethics to long-term success in a market economy and the benefits to businesses of being socially responsible corporate citizens.
6. How successfully did the SIFE team develop and execute a strategy to ensure long-term sustainability of their team and educational programs?
Interpretation: This criterion is to encourage SIFE students to think beyond the immediate project cycle and provide ‘succession planning’ for the team and its projects. Under this criterion, students may report on: their finances, e.g., how funds are raised and applied; on their Business Advisory Board, its composition and the assistance that it gives to the team; on the publicity they gained for the projects, how it was achieved and the effects that it has or may have; on the use that they have made of multiple academic disciplines being represented in the team; on engagements in projects jointly with other SIFE teams in Australia and/or overseas; on the gathering and analysis of statistical and other data, e.g., pre- and post-instructional testing to gauge effectiveness of training provided.
Click here to View the Judges Briefing Video
SIFE teams are evaluated on how effective their projects were at creating economic opportunity for others. The focus is on the results achieved, rather than on the method used. SIFE teams should do more than just teach: they should create an opportunity for change in someone else’s life and then follow through on the implementation of what results to demonstrate the impact on the participants.
Before dealing with the project-related criteria, teams should think through:
- how to demonstrate the creation of economic opportunity?
- how to measure the economic opportunity created?
- how to present the effectiveness of both the demonstration and the measurement?
Have a framework for argument and gather evidence in support: ‘facts’ don’t prove themselves.
As SIFE’s primary goal is to create economic opportunities for others through education on specific topics, the criteria follow a basic ‘hierarchy of needs’ in the gaining of economic knowledge:
- First, one must understand how a market-based economy operates.
- Once that concept is understood, participants in economic activity fall into two categories: employees or entrepreneurs. Employees need skills to succeed in a dynamic jobs market, while entrepreneurs must have the ability to identify a market need and successfully create a product or service to satisfy that need or improve the way an existing business is run.
- When the skills of employment or entrepreneurship have been gained, it is important to be able to manage money to be financially independent, both personally and as a business.
- A sound understanding of the role of ethical business practice is needed to ensure success.
- Finally, a project is more valuable if there is a plan to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Before dealing with the team and program-related criterion, teams should think through:
- how to present the development and execution of a long-term sustainability strategy?
- how to present the success of their strategy?
Unlike the projects, ‘facts’ are more compelling but still need to be supported by ‘proof’, e.g., what the BAB does for the team, how fundraising can be sustained, why the university supports them?
It is strongly recommended that the written report is structured as follows:
- set out as four A4 portrait pages on one double-sided A3 landscape page as a booklet.
- Page 1/front cover to give background information on team, university, community, etc.
- Pages 2 & 3 to give summaries of specific projects and evidence of how criteria were met.
- Page 4/back cover to give overall team sustainability data and mandatory signatures.