The Lab Thinkers Competition 2023

Qualifying Round Submission Date

< 13 – 19th March 2023 >

Problem Statement

As Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, there is a need for technological advances to assist this precious group of people. Nearly 1 in 5 citizens is 65 years and older with the proportion of citizens aged 65 and above increasing to 18.4 per cent in 2022.

Your task is to formulate a technological solution that can help these people.

Rules

Teams (i.e. Group of 1 or 2) are required to submit a written project idea and a pre-recorded video presentation. No actual formulation of the project is required for the qualifying round (i.e., you only need to do actualize your idea if you are selected as one of the 10 finalists). All late submissions will be automatically disqualified.

The video should be at least 5 minutes to a maximum of 15 minutes in duration. All contents of videos beyond 15 minutes will not be taken into consideration for submission.

Qualifying Round Idea Submission

What is the Required Content?

Explain your idea for a product, service, or technology that can be used to solve the case problem by focusing on the following 4 sections:

1. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM OR NEED YOUR IDEA ADDRESSES?

In 500 characters or less (not including spaces) describe the problem your product, service, or technology solves or the need it addresses.

2. HOW ARE YOU SOLVING THE PROBLEM OR ADDRESSING THE NEED YOU IDENTIFIED?

In 500 characters or less (not including spaces). Describe how your product, service, or technology solves the problem (or addresses the need) identified above. Describe the features/characteristics of your product, service or technology. Explain how your product, service, or technology differs from what is currently available to solve the problem/fulfil the need that you identified above.

3. WHO OR WHAT DOES YOUR IDEA BENEFIT?

In 500 characters or less (not including spaces) describe the target market that will benefit from your product, service, or technology. Include a few characteristics that describe how your team will spend the budget assigned to you if you were one of the 10 finalists.

4. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT YOUR IDEA PROVIDES?

In 500 characters or less (not including spaces explain the benefit that your idea provides. A benefit is a positive outcome derived from a characteristic of the product, service, or technology.

5. HOW YOU WILL USE THE BUDGET?

In 500 characters or less, explain how you will utilize the budget assigned to you for the finals.

Submission Deadline

Submission period is from the 13th – 19th March 2023. All late submissions will be automatically disqualified. Please email your submissions to contact@thelab.sg with your name.

Prizes

Frequently Asked Questions

1. If I were to borrow a robot from The Lab, will the value of the robot be counted as zero?

No, if you were to borrow a robot from The Lab, you will not be given a budget of $250 to build out a working prototype.

2. Can the idea submitted in Qualifying Round be different from the one in the finals?

No, the idea submitted in the Qualifying Round has to be the same as the one in the finals. There can be minor adjustments to the implementation of the idea submitted, but the idea should be same.

3. Can I submit more than 1 idea? 

No, only one idea can be submitted for both the Qualifying and Final rounds. If more than one idea is submitted, only the first idea will be considered. 

4. How do I register for the competition?

There is NO need to register for the competition. Once you submit the necessary documents for the qualifying round, you will automatically be registered for the competition. Please submit all the necessary documents to contact@thelab.sg.

5. Do I need to create the actual project for submission?

No actualization of project idea is required at this stage. Nonetheless, your project idea should be something that is feasible and actualized within the period of 1 Apr – 28 June 2023. Actualization of project idea is required only when you are selected as one of the 10 finalists. The finalists will be announced by 31 Mar 2023.