Energy Now! FAQ

Overall, the challenge experience can be highly valuable for both students and our industry partners. For a student, it may be the first in-depth exposure to the real-world poblems faced by industry. For our partners, participants might help them think outside of the box!

Furthermore, if participants collaborate well with our industry partners during the challenge, they may be able to continue their work and implement their solution after the initiative.

Please note that no ECTs will be awarded for participation in the challenge.

For the last two editions, we have prepared challenges together with our industry partners prior to the Kick-Off event. Industry partners will be providing mentors for each challenge. Thus, we hope to provide you with more guidance as compared to the freer format of first edition's challenge.

We recommend a team size of roughly 3-6 students. Furthermore, we encourage interdisciplinary teams as the challenges require diverse skillsets ranging from coding and prototype building to communication, policy making and more.

Yes, you can first register as an individual. 

Yes, all members of a team should register with their contact information, referencing the same team name in each of their applications. To register, have a look at How can I participate?

Yes, students need to register using the registration form at the bottom of the How can I participate? subpage. Registration is still possible after the Kickoff event. The deadline for registration to the Energy Now! 3.0 Challenge is Monday, 30^th September 2024 at 18:00! If you already have a team, please include your team name in the registration process.

The last day for registration to the Energy Now! 3.0 Challenge is Monday, 30^th September at 18:00, i.e. 4 days after the kickoff event on 26^th of September. This is intended to allow for last-minute registrations. However, we encourage you to register earlier to facilitate our planning process. Please use the registration form at the end of How can I participate?

People from outside of ETH Zurich may also participate as members of a team. However, at least one member of a team must be an employee or student of ETH Zurich.

The events will be held on the ETH Zentrum Campus. More information about the process and the planned events are available on the How does it work? subpage.

We highly recommend attending the Kickoff event on 26^th September in the Dozentenfoyer (ETH Zentrum, HG). This will be your first chance to meet our industry partners and discuss in-depth their proposed challenges. After the presentations of the challenges by the industry partners, there is going to be an apero where you can also meet possible teammates!

They are simply an opportunity for team members to meet in person in designated rooms we have reserved for you. We thus hope to support students in finding space and time to work on their solutions with their whole team.  

In special cases, students may be allowed to work on their own challenges. However, we strongly recommend considering a challenge proposed by industry partners in order to receive their mentorship.

The challenges are designed to require between 3 and 10 hours of work per week. The amount of time allocated to the project also depends on the team's size and goals.  

The mentor's primary goal is to help your team deeply understand their challenge from the industry point of view. This will be achieved through active participation of mentors in the Kickoff (26^th September) and Feedback (November). Mentors will also be available for interim guidance via email. Further, mentors may arrange for students to visit their respective company onsite to further deepen students' exposure to the real-world industry environment.

Surprise us! :)

The feasibility of the solutions will be the primary focus of Energy Now! 3.0, as it aims to achieve concrete impact. Feasibility encompasses various aspects, including the scalability of technological development, the necessary supportive policy framework, and the economic viability of the solution. If the proposed solutions involve a set of policy measures, they should be presented along with the solution and accompanied by an assessment.