Team advisors are a critical part of the challenge. They should be 18 years of age or older and can be a teacher, parent, or organization leader. They are the liaisons between the student teams and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), helping to protect students’ personal information and assure that teams have the information they need to have a good experience with the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge.

Team advisors help guide their teams through the research process and help them to find objective and science-based sources of information, such as those in the BioenergizeME Research Resource Guide. Team advisors are required to review and score each infographic based on the rubric provided in the BioenergizeME Toolkit. They should only submit to BETO the infographics that receive a “three” in the Research Content section of the Rubric. The review process ensures that misinformation is not propagated during the social media campaign.

Yes. Teams should have no more than six students and at least two.

A team may only submit one infographic each challenge year.

No, there is no limit to how many teams may enter from a single school, so long as they comply with the rules listed in the BioenergizeME Toolkit.

One team will be selected as the grand prize winner and will be invited to travel to Washington, D.C., for the annual BETO conference.

All teams who receive 500 or more unique page views in the social media campaign will move forward to the second round of reviews. During this review, BETO’s leadership team will select the top three infographics based on design and research content. The BETO Director will select the grand prize winner. The team who receives the most unique page views from the social media campaign, grand prize runners up, and grand prize winner will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony.

All infographics selected for the social media campaign will be posted on the BioenergizeME Map page and remain there following the challenge. Additionally, the infographics may be used for digital promotion, BETO’s annual conference, and other professional conferences.

Keep in mind that infographics can be referenced with their associated URLs in resumes, curriculum vitae (CVs), and college applications.

By submitting the infographic to BETO, each team grants to DOE a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, and copy for use, all parts of its submission, for purposes of evaluation of its entry or promotion of the competition.

The challenge will be offered on an annual basis. Dates and guidelines for the 2018 challenge will be available after the conclusion of the 2017 challenge. Sign up for our education listserv, and we will notify you via email before the next challenge begins.

In addition to the information and links provided in the BioenergizeME Research Resource Guide, the BioenergizeME team will be hosting an “Office Hours” webinar series to help students and team advisors learn more about bioenergy and the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge. Sign up for the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) listserv, and we will notify you via email about upcoming education and workforce development opportunities.

Participants must be over the age of 13 by the registration deadline for the current challenge. A participant may not have reached his or her 19th birthday as of January 1 of the year in which the challenge winners are selected.

However, the BioenergizeME Team may grant a special authorization to compete for youth with developmental disabilities who exceed the upper age limit.

BETO reviews each submitted infographic for technical accuracy. This review process ensures that all information is accurate and science-based and that misinformation is not distributed through the social media campaign. BETO will provide feedback and instructions on revisions that are required for a submission to qualify for the social media campaign. Teams will have at least one full week to complete required revisions. All required changes must be addressed in order for the team to advance to the social media campaign. Team advisors will then resubmit the revised infographics. The team advisors will be notified of the results of the review process. Student teams with qualifying infographics should move forward with planning their social media campaigns. 

Submissions containing inaccurate information or lacking sufficient references for their content will not be selected to participate in the social media campaign.

Yes. All teams that participate in the social media campaign will receive a letter of appreciation from DOE leadership. The top three finalists along with the team with the most unique page views will receive official certificates and be recognized in a virtual awards ceremony.

Keep in mind that letters and certificates can be referenced in resumes, curriculum vitae (CVs), and college applications.

The Social Media Guide (also found in Appendix A of the BioenergizeME Toolkit) was developed specifically for the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge. Its purpose is to provide tips and guidance to help students plan and execute their social media campaigns.

No. Being out of school during the challenge will not disqualify your team from participating. Participation in the social media campaign can occur outside of classroom time. In this case, team advisors, or another designated adult, should be accessible throughout the duration of the social media campaign as needed to help teams adapt their social media strategies and to provide guidance in case the teams receive negative feedback via social media. If teams use class time to participate in the social media campaign, we request this be approved by the classroom teacher.

Before the social media campaign begins, BETO will notify the team advisor of each team that is selected to participate. Teams should proceed to plan their social media campaign strategies.

See the “How are the participants for the social media campaign selected?” question for more details on the selection process.

BETO will use web analytics to determine which teams have received 500 or more unique page views on their infographic’s page during the social media campaign. All teams who meet this target will be considered for the grand prize (see “How is the grand prize team selected?”). 

Yes. Throughout the social media campaign, BETO will perform daily Web analytics (Monday–Friday) and keep a running list of the top 10 infographics on a leaderboard on the BioenergizeME homepage. Team advisors can request analytics for their team(s) by emailing BioenergizeME@ee.doe.gov.

The ten infographics with the greatest number of unique page views will be posted to the leaderboard found on the BioenergizeME homepage. Participants can view this to get a quick snapshot of their progress; however, a more detailed analytic outlook will be sent to the advisors periodically throughout the social media campaign. 

BETO will notify team advisors via email whether their team(s) will move forward to be considered for the grand prize. These finalists will be invited to attend a virtual awards ceremony, where the team who receives the most unique page views from the social media campaign, grand prize runners up, and grand prize winner will be announced.

Yes. If you are not selected to participate in the social media campaign, and you are interested in receiving feedback on why your infographic wasn’t chosen, please follow up with the BioenergizeME team by emailing BioenergizeME@ee.doe.gov.

Yes. Team advisors should register to confirm their intent to participate in the challenge. The registration form and deadline can be found on the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge homepage and at the link found below. Registered team advisors will receive updates about the challenge and resources, as well as information about additional opportunities such as BioenergizeME Office Hours. Register here.

Infographics must be submitted to BETO by the team advisor. Team advisors must complete the submission form, also found via the link in the submission section on the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge homepage.

Please keep in mind that all infographics should be reviewed by the team advisor prior to submission, and team advisors should only submit infographics receiving a “three” in the Research Content section of the rubric.

Teams are welcome to submit their infographics at any time between the challenge kick-off and the submission deadline. These dates can be found on the right side of the BioenergizeME Infographic Challenge homepage.

Submissions can be resubmitted only if they have not been selected as a finalist, runner up, or grand prize winner in a previous Challenge.

Yes! Please email the BioenergizeME Team at BioenergizeME@ee.doe.gov.