Dr. K. V. Rao Scientific Society -

Fosters spirit of scientific enquiry and promotes innovation among school children. KVRSS holds an annual science innovation fair wherein the SPARK Innovation Awards are given for entries which display harnessing of scientific concepts for solutions to various issues through some novel concept/method/process/device.

The contest aims to encourage innovation among school students who come up with the most original exhibits/concepts in various fields of Science.

The competition started
in 2012
for students of
Andhra Pradesh
and was extended to include students from the states of
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 2015, now is a PAN India Competition.

2020 the event was extended to cover school students across India. The competition is held in the four basic sciences and awards presented in each field as follows

Math

KVRSS SPARK GANITAM Awards

Chemistry

KVRSS SPARK RASAYANAM Awards

Biology

KVRSS SPARK JEEVANAM Awards

Physics

KVRSS SPARK BHOUTIKAM Awards

The students need to submit projects for each field separately. The competition is open to all students from all the states of India studying in the classes 7 to 12 and in the age group of 12 -18 years. The proposals should focus on Innovative Ideas of students and not a mere compilation of ideas or project or work downloaded from the internet.

All students must have permission/certificate from the school to enter the Competition. The decision regarding the students' eligibility to participate rests with KVRSS - who in turn will constitute selection committees consisting of eminent science teachers - both school and university level. The decisions of these expert committees will be final.

Note

The projects should be submitted for each field separately.
The final select presentations will be held offline.

Entry requirements from participants:

Summary (A brief overview of project in English).
Significance and Uniqueness of the project
Concept (The scientific concept being used or explained).
Methodology & Experimental Design.
Results so far achieved and explanation of results.
Conclusion (Details of the outcome of the project).
Future Potential of the Project.
Bibliography, References and Acknowledgements.

Important Note

The paper must be submitted with all the Topics mentioned above in the application
Any omission of the above topics will lead to disqualification of application
Graphs, Figures and Tables should be included wherever required
Projects that are just informational, working-models, kit building or downloads from the internet will not be considered
A project may be a part of a larger study performed by professional scientists, but the project presented by the students must be only their own portion of the complete study
Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism, forgery, use or presentation of other researcher's work as one's own and fabrication of data. Fraudulent projects will fail to qualify for competition
The decision of the panel of judges for the awards is final and binding and no discussion/communication will be entertained in this matter
Candidates who have already been selected for an award in the previous years cannot apply

Awards

Category - I
GANITAM (Math)

Category - II
RASAYANAM (Chemistry)

Category - III
JEEVANAM (Biology)

Category - IV
BHOUTIKAM (Physics)

Awards given in each Category will be

Rs. 10,000/- only

Winners

Rs. 5,000/- only

Runner-up

JUDGING CRITERIA

How inspiring is the idea?
Capacity to make impact in some way.
Interest & Creativity demonstrated by the team.
Knowledge and use of scientific concepts.
Interpretation of results.
Presentation and communication skills.

ELIGIBILITY

Each school may send a maximum 5 projects including all categories; however, a student can be part of only one project
A student must be:
- - In classes 7 to 12 for KVRSS SPARK Innovation Awards and
- - In the age group of 12 - 18 years.
Abstracts and additional material must be in English
A team may have a maximum of three members and from the same School

REGISTRATION

All students, individuals and teams, must register as per the format given.
Each team must have a Team Leader identified .
Project proposals for each category of KVRSS SPARK Innovation awards should be submitted separately clearly mentioning in bold letters for which category the proposal is being sent
Registration and submission of a project does not guarantee an entry into the final Presentation
Once the application is submitted, the form will by default go to the principal's email for approval. Only after that KVRSS will accept the application.
Projects selected for final presentation will be intimated to the students/guide teacher
Final presentation of selected projects will be held offline at Hyderabad
Only the Team Leader will present the project before the panel of judges

TIPS TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROJECTS

Talk to the faculty at a nearby college, university or research institute.
Search online, ask teachers, study science magazines, etc.
Contact judges from earlier science competitions.
Contact people who write science articles/science communicators.
Check International Science Fairs' websites.

for SPARK Innovation Awards 2024-25

Going forward, KVRSS plans to select some projects for scaling up and provide financial assistance and mentors. The Society has previously selected two projects and successfully supported the students in improving and scaling up the projects.