Innovation Factory Project Admission Criteria for Student Projects
Purpose
These criteria will aid in the assessment of all the student projects requesting admission to Innovation Factory to access its support and resources related to technology innovation, its research and product development.
Note 1: to better understand the admission criteria, Innovation Factory advise this document to be read in conjunction with the project funding criteria for student projects (Please see Table 2).
Note 2: refer to the Innovation Factorywebsite for details on stages of development and understanding of Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs).
Project categories
This document only applies to Tier 1 and 2 projects, the definition of which are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Definition of Tier 1 and 2 projects
Project categories
Definition
Tier 1
Proof of Concept (PoC) – Solo only projects.
Funding support of up to ¥5,000 for the purpose of i) research and MVP development ii) Non-industry grade components/materials to develop low cost laboratory scale basic prototypes.
Duration: up to 3-6 months (align with stage 1 development).
Tier 2
Proof of Concept development – Group/team projects
Funding support of up to ¥15,000 for the purpose of i) MVP development ii) laboratory scale basic prototypes through non-industry grade components/materials.
Duration: between 3–6 months (aligns with stage 1 development).
Tier 3 (Scalable Solutions)
Advanced prototypes – Group/team projects
Funding support of up to ¥50,000 for the purpose of i) Advanced prototyping ii) prototypes demonstrating route to commercialization and/or IP filing iii) prototype building followed by national/international competition participation etc.
Duration: up to 6 months post stage 1/tier 1 & 2 development, and, require formal funding application assessment by the project funding assessment panel.
Project Admission Criteria
All the admission criteria defined below must be carefully considered before filling out the registration forms. For tier 1 projects, 50% of the criteria defined below should be met in order to be accepted for admission to Innovation Factory. This provides flexible framework for solo/tier 1 student projects who are still exploring the innovation and technology development process.
Note: The project admission criteria is defined in Table 2 for the reference of project team , to consider when filling out the registration form.
Table 2: Innovation Factory project assessment and admission criteria
Item #
Project Criteria
Qualification Factors
Yes/No/Not Applicable
Stage 1 – new technology/solution development (up to 6 months)
1
Technical feasibility and innovation
o Is the project innovation discussed?
o Is the proposed technology/solution clearly stated?
o Is the proposed output clearly stated?
2
Project team and diversity
Note: in case of solo projects the solo project team member should demonstrate necessary technical background to complete the projects on his/her own.
o Is the project team diverse and have sufficient expertise to cover all the development aspects? If not, is the project team open to recruit new members?
3
Project outputs/deliverables and schedule
o Is the project outputs/deliverables and schedule defined for the first 3 months? Note: The student(s) have to deliver the designs/models of the proposed solution in the first 3 months or should have made sufficient progress
o Is the project outputs/deliverables and schedule for 6 months defined? Note: The student(s) should be aiming to deliver a basic prototype/MVP that aligns with stage 1 of Innovation Factory project development with basic functions/subset of functions?
o Is the long-term plan, i.e. 12 months schedule listed or planned?
4
Resource and expertise requirement
o Has the team/student(s) listed their requirements related to i) resources (labs, equipment, space) ii) technical expertise/mentorship iii) training requirements?
5
Projects value proposition
o Does the project create value for XJTLU in return to their investment? E.g. societal impact, research outputs, curriculum enhancement, financial benefit, impact case studies.
Stage 2 (optional) – Only for projects at the advance stage OR with further development plan (up to month 12 & beyond)
6
Market potential and scalability
o Is the proposed solution scalable with a potential to be further developed as a fully functional prototype in stage2 & beyond?
o Does the project have a potential to create a commercially viable product that can be marketed?
Evaluation process
The Director of Innovation Factory and the Director of X3Co-Venture, along with Ops team member and technical team member will carry out the evaluation and initial assessment of the project based on the established criteria. The evaluation process will be used as a guideline at project’s first assessment meeting and the outcome will be conveyed/feedback provided officially by email (details given below).
Outcome of the Assessment and Feedback
The outcome of the assessment meeting will be officially communicated by email.
If the project fails to meet the required admission criteria, feedback will be provided during the project assessment meeting and students will be encouraged to resubmit the project’s pitch deck after necessary revisions within 30 days of the feedback.
If the project does not meet the criteria upon resubmission, the project team has to wait for further 2 months before they become eligible to reapply. An appeal can be submitted against the decision with clear evidence of how the criteria can be met.
Appeals procedure
The student(s) can submit an appeal with clear evidence of how they have addressed the deficiency highlighted in their project to meet 50% assessment criteria. Appeals can be submitted within 30 days from the final decision date.
Health & Safety
Each of the projects admitted to Innovation Factory will go through a rigorous Health & Safety (H&S) process developed and implemented by Laboratory and Technical Management Office (LTMO) under the university guidelines. Each of the project teams who will be using the lab and equipment will have to go through:
H&S induction.
Equipment training (where applicable).
Completion of Risk Assessment (RA) form.
The process will be administered and implemented by related LTMO team with support from relevant parties, e.g. Innovation Factory.
Review and Updates
The project admission criteria will be reviewed every 6-8 months in the first 2 years and then annually to make appropriate adjustments.
Note: Innovation Factory reserves the right to change the project criteria anytime during the course of academic year, which will be effective immediately.
Innovation Factory Project Admission Criteria for Student Projects
These criteria will aid in the assessment of all the student projects requesting admission to Innovation Factory to access its support and resources related to technology innovation, its research and product development.
Note 1: to better understand the admission criteria, Innovation Factory advise this document to be read in conjunction with the project funding criteria for student projects (Please see Table 2).
Note 2: refer to the Innovation Factory website for details on stages of development and understanding of Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs).
This document only applies to Tier 1 and 2 projects, the definition of which are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Definition of Tier 1 and 2 projects
Funding support of up to ¥5,000 for the purpose of i) research and MVP development ii) Non-industry grade components/materials to develop low cost laboratory scale basic prototypes.
Duration: up to 3-6 months (align with stage 1 development).
Funding support of up to ¥15,000 for the purpose of i) MVP development ii) laboratory scale basic prototypes through non-industry grade components/materials.
Duration: between 3–6 months (aligns with stage 1 development).
Funding support of up to ¥50,000 for the purpose of i) Advanced prototyping ii) prototypes demonstrating route to commercialization and/or IP filing iii) prototype building followed by national/international competition participation etc.
Duration: up to 6 months post stage 1/tier 1 & 2 development, and, require formal funding application assessment by the project funding assessment panel.
All the admission criteria defined below must be carefully considered before filling out the registration forms. For tier 1 projects, 50% of the criteria defined below should be met in order to be accepted for admission to Innovation Factory. This provides flexible framework for solo/tier 1 student projects who are still exploring the innovation and technology development process.
Note: The project admission criteria is defined in Table 2 for the reference of project team , to consider when filling out the registration form.
Table 2: Innovation Factory project assessment and admission criteria
o Is the proposed technology/solution clearly stated?
o Is the proposed output clearly stated?
Note: in case of solo projects the solo project team member should demonstrate necessary technical background to complete the projects on his/her own.
o Is the project outputs/deliverables and schedule for 6 months defined? Note: The student(s) should be aiming to deliver a basic prototype/MVP that aligns with stage 1 of Innovation Factory project development with basic functions/subset of functions?
o Is the long-term plan, i.e. 12 months schedule listed or planned?
o Does the project have a potential to create a commercially viable product that can be marketed?
The Director of Innovation Factory and the Director of X3Co-Venture, along with Ops team member and technical team member will carry out the evaluation and initial assessment of the project based on the established criteria. The evaluation process will be used as a guideline at project’s first assessment meeting and the outcome will be conveyed/feedback provided officially by email (details given below).
The outcome of the assessment meeting will be officially communicated by email.
If the project fails to meet the required admission criteria, feedback will be provided during the project assessment meeting and students will be encouraged to resubmit the project’s pitch deck after necessary revisions within 30 days of the feedback.
If the project does not meet the criteria upon resubmission, the project team has to wait for further 2 months before they become eligible to reapply. An appeal can be submitted against the decision with clear evidence of how the criteria can be met.
The student(s) can submit an appeal with clear evidence of how they have addressed the deficiency highlighted in their project to meet 50% assessment criteria. Appeals can be submitted within 30 days from the final decision date.
Each of the projects admitted to Innovation Factory will go through a rigorous Health & Safety (H&S) process developed and implemented by Laboratory and Technical Management Office (LTMO) under the university guidelines. Each of the project teams who will be using the lab and equipment will have to go through:
The process will be administered and implemented by related LTMO team with support from relevant parties, e.g. Innovation Factory.
The project admission criteria will be reviewed every 6-8 months in the first 2 years and then annually to make appropriate adjustments.
Note: Innovation Factory reserves the right to change the project criteria anytime during the course of academic year, which will be effective immediately.