Innovation Expo – new event to select NorCal Regional GIA Nominee(s)
For the past several years, FIRST has organized the Global Innovation Award, presented by XPRIZE (GIA) and offers each FIRST LEGO League region an opportunity to nominate one or more Regional Nominees based on a team’s Innovative Solution to their Challenge Project.
Northern California presents teams with the opportunity to be nominated to represent our region for this award.
NEW for Animal Allies Season: Starting in the 2016 season, at each November Qualifying Tournament, the project judges will select an Innovation Candidate team. Then, in early spring, these teams will apply (by completing the same materials as requested by FIRST in their application process) and compete at the NorCal Innovation Expo to select the Northern California’s Regional Nominee(s). As of July 2016, we are not sure if we will have only 1 overall Regional Nominee or have multiple nominees.
The Northern California Regional Nominee(s) will submit the same materials to FIRST and then evaluated by a panel of judges coordinated by FIRST against the other regional nominees worldwide for an opportunity to compete for cash and other awards at a special event at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Virginia.
Stay tuned for Early Spring 2017 date and location.
Exciting news from 2015: NorCal had 2 semi-finalists! Congratulations to Team 442, Nano Nerds from Folsom for their Polystyrenator project and Team 3205 iRobot from Palo Alto for their TrashCam project
