Rules and Regulations for the 17th Macao-wide IT Competition – 3D Programming and Artificial Intelligence Creation Contest

Objective

The main objective of this competition is to promote the application of information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI) skill among residents of Macao. This aligns with the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government's "1+4" strategy for moderate economic diversification. The competition aims to cultivate interdisciplinary high-tech talent, thereby enhancing the development of IT and AI skill in Macao and increasing the reserve of high-tech talent in the region.

Theme

Tackling Climate Change: Challenges and Innovation

Eligibility

The 17th Macao-wide I.T. competition is open to the following two categories:

  • 3D Programming Category: all secondary school students in Macao. Each team (2 to 3 members) in this category may have a secondary school teacher as its mentor (optional). Members and mentor of a team must be from the same school. A mentor can assist no more than 5 teams. A mentor can assist the team with the technical aspects of the competition but the creative aspects should be the work of the students.
  • AI Creation Category: all Macao residents aged 15 or above, as well as foreign students attending universities/higher education institutions in Macao. Each participating team in this category must comprise of 2 to 3 members.
  • Macao ID cards, valid Student or Teacher ID cards are required for verification of eligibility.
  • Each team member can only participate in one team.

Competition Format

  • 3D Programming Category
    • The participating teams are required to use Alice 3.x * (3.7 or above) programming world to create an animation related to the theme. The playtime of the animation should not be less than 1 minute but no more than 3 minutes.
    • Marks will be deducted if the playtime is outside this range.
    • *This product includes software developed by Carnegie Mellon University.

  • AI Creation Category
    • The participating teams are required to create a short story based on the theme and submit a storyboard as a PDF file. The storyboard consists of 6 to 18 consecutive frames, each including a brief text description or dialogue. The teams are required to use AI image generation tools (such as Microsoft Copilot, PicLumen, DALL•E, Midjourney, etc.) to produce the images for the storyboard, and can make minor post-production edits to the generated images, such as cropping and pasting. All images and text descriptions must be original and created specifically for this competition.
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Registration

  • Participating teams are to complete a registration form at http://osf.mpu.edu.mo/ITC by 12 January 2025, before 23:59.
  • Late entries will not be entertained. Acknowledgements of receipt will be sent via email.
  • A tutorial for 3D Programming and AI Creation will be provided for FREE by MPU for all interested participating teams on a date to be announced. Enrollment method will be announced later.

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Submission

Participants must submit the following files on the website provided by the organizer by 16 April 2025, before 15:00.

  • 3D Programming Category
    • A computer animation file in MP4 format, recommended aspect ratio 16:9, recommended resolution 720p or 1080p.
    • A documentation file (in .docx format), which includes a Declaration of Original Work. Please sign it digitally. Template will be provided by the organizer.
    • An oral presentation video (up to 8 minutes and in .mp4 format), which should include introduction, creative ideas, technical difficulties, team work, and playback of submitted animation.
    • A compressed (zip or rar) file of the source files of the computer animation. The animation may be produced by a sequence of up to ten Alice a3p files. No post-processing of the captured video (e.g. video or sound editing, subtitle, transition effect) are allowed.

  • AI Creation Category
    • A storyboard in PDF format.
    • A documentation file (in .docx format), which includes a Declaration of Original Work. Please sign it digitally. Template will be provided by the organizer. Participants are required to provide a detailed description of the AI image generation process in the document, including the tools used, the prompts for generating the main characters and scenes, as well as any post-production work done on the generated images.
    • An oral presentation video (up to 8 minutes and in .mp4 format), which should include introduction, creative ideas, technical difficulties, team work, and the presentation of the storyboard.
  • The animation / storyboard file, documentation and oral presentation video will be provided to the judges for preview and shortlisting purpose.
  • The organizer will compare the submitted source files and the animation files. If necessary, the participants in the 3D programming category will be required to demonstrate that their animation file can be generated from the submitted source files before the oral presentation.
  • Marks will be deducted for missing files, inappropriate source file submission format, or overtime or undertime animation file.
  • One submission is allowed for each team.

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Oral Presentation

  • Before the oral presentation, the judges will preview the submission of all participants. The judges will shortlist the participating teams for the oral presentation.
  • Each shortlisted team must make an oral presentation (10 minutes) of the program (on a date to be determined). The oral presentation should consist of a presentation (explaining the program), animation playback / storyboard display and a Q&A session for the judges.
  • All members of the participating teams must participate in the presentation to address possible questions by the judges. 5% of the total marks will be deducted for any team member’s absence or lateness. Teams that are absent from or late for the presentation will receive zero marks for the presentation part.

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Judging Criteria

The judging criteria are as follows:

    • (30%) Story telling
      (including match of the theme, story completeness, overall idea of the work, etc.)
    • (30%) Technical complexity
      (including 3D effects, programming, AI creation, etc.)
    • (15%) Creativity
      (including expression, techniques, multimedia, etc.)
    • (10%) Documentation
    • (10%) Oral presentation
    • (5%) Team work

A panel of judges consisting of experts will judge the submissions based on the criteria set above.

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    Prizes

    3D Programming Category
    First Prize (1 team): MOP 15,000 for the team and one iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB (or equivalent product) for the mentor
    Second Prize (1 team): MOP 10,000 for the team and one iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB (or equivalent product) for the mentor
    Most Creative Idea Prize (1 team): MOP 8,000 for the team and one iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB (or equivalent product) for the mentor
    Future Stars Prize (1 team for participants in Grade 10 or below): MOP 5,000 for the team and one iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB (or equivalent product) for the mentor
    Third Prize (5 teams): MOP 3,000 for each team and one Apple Watch Series 10 (or equivalent product) for the mentor


    AI Creation Category
    First Prize (1 team): MOP 15,000 for the team
    Second Prize (1 team): MOP 10,000 for the team
    Third Prize (3 teams): MOP 3,000 for each team

    A team will only be awarded at most one prize. Teams with good performance will receive a certificate of Merit Prize.

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      Important Dates

      Dates Events
      12 January 2025 Deadline of registration
      16 April 2025 Deadline of submission
      June 2025 Oral presentation
      July 2025 Announcement of winners

      Contents of Entries

      Any entry which has been determined by the organizer or the judges to be obscene, illegal, unreasonably violent or contrary to any laws, regulations or public policies in Macao will be immediately disqualified.

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        Intellectual Property Rights

        • The submission must be the participants’ own original work. A Declaration of Original Work form must be submitted before the oral presentation.
        • Each participating team must ensure that their entry does not infringe any copyright or any other intellectual property rights of any other third party in any part of the world.
        • All intellectual property rights relating to any entry submitted shall be deemed to be owned by MPU.
        • MPU shall have the exclusive right to use any or all of the intellectual property rights relating to any entry in whole or in part for non-commercial publicity without giving any of the participants any remuneration or royalties of any form whatsoever.
        • Participants must declare their sources for any imported media (images, sounds and 3D models) not produced and owned by themselves in the submission document.

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        Other Requirements

        • The organizer reserves the right to disqualify any participants who does not comply with the Rules and Regulations.
        • The decision of the panel of judges is final. Appeals will not be entertained.
        • Under rare circumstances, the organizer reserves the rights to modify the Rules and Regulations for the competition.
        • If you have further queries, please contact the organizer through the following email: ITC@mpu.edu.mo