University Program
Through the University Outreach Initiative, the Georgia chapter of the Product Develoment and Management Association is dedicated to building and promoting a community of new product developers and center of New Product Development Excellence by facilitating opportunities for interaction, networking, and New Product Development education activities between university faculty and students, and professionals.
Student Paper Competition
The purpose of the Competition is to foster and recognize outstanding undergraduate and graduate student efforts in the area of new product development (NPD).
Competition rules and qualifications available as a PDF file.
Participant Qualifications
All individual students or student teams enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate classes oriented towards new product development during the current academic year are eligible. This competition is open to all universities and colleges in Georgia and the surrounding states. The paper may encompass any type of new product. The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development (2005) defines products as “all goods, services, and knowledge sold” to individual consumers or organizations.
Typical examples of products might be food products, banking services, consumer electronics or software.
There are no rules dictating the specific format of the paper. It is expected that some standard professional format, such as the APA (American Psychological Association), IEEE, or Chicago Manual of Style will be followed. It is expected that references to other works will be appropriately cited and that there will be a References (i.e. Bibliography) section.
It is recommended that papers contain sections or sub-sections addressing each of the evaluation criteria described below.
Winning papers will be presented to a live audience at a Georgia PDMA Chapter meeting. Winning groups will be notified one week prior to the presentation date. Appropriate visual illustrations are recommended for this presentation.Evaluation
A& Jury composed of New Product Development experts will evaluate the papers according the following criteria:
- Problem(s) Solved: Why is the product needed and what problem or problems will it solve?
- Product Concept: Definition/description of the proposed new product and its capabilities through written descriptions, drawings, prototypes, etc.
- Innovation: How is the product new and/or an improvement over some other product?
- Appeal: How useful, usable and desirable is the product?
- Market/Product Strategy, including User Value: Who are the intended users and how do the product’s features provide value to these users?
- Benefits to the Business: How will the product improve a company’s business?
- Impact: What are the potential side effects of the new product, negative and/or positive?
- Promotional Strategy: What is the strategy to reach the target customer, including details on the types of media to use, the major selling points and the primary distribution channels?
- Project/Product Planning: What is the plan to implement development and production of the proposed product?
In general, the following components are recommended for submissions.
- Consumer Research: What evidence is given that the product performs a useful function (usefulness), is easy to use (usability) and is desirable to potential customers?
- Market Analysis: What is the estimated market size, what does the competition landscape look like and how much should the product cost?
Papers will also be judged on their overall contribution to the NPD discipline and general quality of the paper.
Awards
The winning graduate and undergraduate papers each will receive a cash award of $1,000.
Winning papers will be presented to a live audience of NPD professionals on April 17, 2008.
Note to Faculty:
If you are interested in having a member of the Georgia PDMA Chapter speak to your class about the Student Paper Competition, please contact Karen Williams at student@georgiapdma.org, or by phone at (770) 391-1099. Additionally, GA PDMA members with particular expertise will be happy to address your class on specific topics, such as the NPD process, quantitative and/or qualitative research methods, or industrial design.
Key Dates:
Thursday, April 3, 2008: Papers Due via email submission, 5:00 pm
Thursday, April 10, 2008: Decisions on awards
Thursday April 17, 2008: Presentation of winning papers at GA PDMA Chapter meeting
Submission Details:
Papers must be submitted electronically to student@georgiapdma.org by 5:00 pm EST on April 3, 2008. Documents should be in a .pdf or .doc file format. All submissions must include the following information:
- Names of all individuals in the participating group
- Academic status (Graduate or Undergraduate)
- Contact information for at least one group representative including email and phone number
- Academic institution name
- Advising professor (if applicable)
Questions
Please contact:
Karen Williams
Director of Academic Affairs
student@georgiapdma.org
(770) 391-1099
