International IMS Student Contest

Application

1. Purpose:

To inspire and engage the younger generations in exploring the field of Instrumentation and Measurement.

2. Final Contest/ Date & Venue

The final stage of the contest will take place at the venue of IEEE I2MTC during the conference week.
For the 2026 Edition:

• Date: May 25-28, 2026 (The exact date will be announced by March 1, 2026)
• Venue: Nancy Congress Center - Centre Prouvé, Nancy, France

3. Evaluation Committee

The Student Contest Committee consists of five members.

• VP Education
• VP Membership
• Young Professional Representative
• Two individuals appointed by the President

4. Participants

This international IMS Student contest addresses teams of Undergraduates, Master and Ph.D. students and aims to stimulate innovative ideas for applications in the area of instrumentation and measurement fields.

5. Focusing Topics

1. The contest topic is not assigned; however, the participating team must focus on developing measurement systems or solving problems using instrumentation and measurement-associated technologies.
2. The contest emphasizes hands-on solutions; therefore, new or implemented hardware/systems are highly welcomed.

6. Selection for Final Stage

(1) A maximum of ten teams will be selected for the final stage of the contest in 2026. Five teams will be selected among Local (Student) Chapter winners, five will be selected among Self registered [Note: The maximum number for the final stage, and for each category, will be announced yearly].

If less than five Local (Student) Chapter teams apply, additional Self-registered teams may be selected to reach a total of ten teams. If more than five Local (Student) Chapter teams apply, a ranking will be performed. The top five will be directly selected as Local representatives. The remaining Local teams — those not in the top five — will be included in the pool of Self-registered teams and may still be selected for the final stage, competing for the remaining slots. The final stage of the competition can be reached in two ways: Local (Student) Chapter Contest or Self-register for the competition (as Self-Register hereafter).

1. Local (Student) Chapter Contest
   
   1. Each IMS Chapter selects the winner in a local student contest among the multiple competing teams.
   2. The winners of the local student contests are eligible for the final stage.
   3. The local student contest should be held from February 1 of the previous year to February 1 of the year of the final stage. Refer to the time chart given below.
       

1. Each (Student) Chapter MUST issue a CERTIFICATE to endorse the winner to attend the final stage. Refer to Appendix A for an example of the Certification Letter.
2. If a local contest winner fails to meet 6-1)-(a), or doesn't submit the CERTIFICATE, the team will be treated as a Self-Register, and the team will go through the following proposal section.
3. Self-Register
   
   1. Students are eligible to participate in the student contest even if they do not participate in the local student contest or if no Chapter exists to organize the local contest.
      [Note: the teams that participated in the local contest but were not selected as the winner by the (Student) Chapter cannot qualify for the final stage via the Self-Register process.
   2. All the Self-Register applications will be evaluated based on the same criteria used for the final stage.

The Evaluation Committee will notify the teams selected for the final stage by February 15.

Both the Local (Student) Chapter winners and the Self-Register teams must submit an application package to the Evaluation Committee by February 1 of the year of the final stage.
Refer to Appendix B for details about commitment and other requirements.

7. Final stage

During the final stage the selected teams will be invited to bring a working demonstrator of their proposal to the IEEE I2MTC and will present it to the Evaluation Committee during a dedicated Session. Failing to do so will result in the exclusion of the team.

8. Team Organization

Participating teams will include a maximum of four members and must identify a faculty member at their university who will act as a mentor and point of contact with the Evaluation Committee.

9. Application Package

The following documents must be submitted as part of the application package:

1. A technical description of the proposal (maximum three pages) that must include:
   • The technical description of the demo system.
   • The significance of the application proposed in the I&M field.
   • Measurement methodologies that will be implemented.
   • The demo planned with a detailed list of goals.
   • The cost breakdown of the demo system.
2. One-page short resume of the team members (one page for the whole team)
3. One-page presentation letter, signed by the mentor, to confirm that the University laboratories were available to support the development of the instrumentation and/or measurement methodologies.
4. The commitment of at least one of the team members to attend the live demo session at the IEEE I2MTC venue.
   The detailed list of the submission documents is given in Appendix B.

10. Evaluation Criteria

The Evaluation Committee will review the proposal submitted based on the application package and the presentation at the Conference using the following criteria:

• Novelty
• Potential Impact
• Quality of the Live Demo and Poster
• Cost Analysis of the Proposed System

11. Possible Financial Support

1. The Society will provide financial support to (Student) Chapters to host local evaluation events. The financial support will be USD 1000 to USD 3000, depending on the number of teams.
   Note:
   • For the 2026 student contest, financial support will only be given to (Student) Chapters that hold local student contests after the date the IMS Student Contest was announced on the website.
   • The possible items for expenditure are listed in Appendix C.
2. The Society will provide each selected team with a maximum of USD 5000 for travel support to the final competition venue. The budget mentioned can only be used to cover the travel costs required by the STUDENTS of the selected team.
3. Students from selected teams who wish to attend the conference must register as STUDENTS. The Student Registration fee is eligible for reimbursement.  Please note that registering for the conference is not mandatory to participate in the contest. 

12. Awards

• 1st Place Award: USD 3,000 with Society Certifications to all team members and the mentor
• 2nd Place Award: USD 2,000 with Society Certifications to all team members and the mentor
• 3rd Place Award: USD 1,000 with Society Certifications to all team members and the mentor
• Honorable Mention: Society Certifications to all team members and the mentor

Industry Sponsor

2026 International IMS Student Contest is sponsored by Chroma ATE Inc. (https://www.chromaate.com/en/)