Seeking Virtual Judges for the NC Future Cities Competition

NC Future Cities is seeking professionals in the world of engineering, architecture, and related fields to be virtual mentors and judges.

Future Cities is a national competition for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 in which they are challenged to think like an engineer and come up with ideas that solve a problem impacting the sustainability of the Earth. This is an opportunity for you to share your passion for your career with students who are just beginning to learn what it means to be an engineer.

Visit the Future City Competition website to learn more.

Register online to be a volunteer for the Future City Competition.

We are presently seeking:

Mentors

Mentors work alongside the team educator and act as a coach/role model. They provide guidance, connections between academic concepts and real-life, and technical assistance to the middle school team members. Mentors work with the team regularly throughout the competition season, but do not need to be present at every team meeting.

As a mentor, you will be matched with a specific team that has requested a mentor. Your time commitment would begin asap and continue until the Final Competition at the end of January. Mentoring can be done virtually or in person, so you don't need to be near the school to participate.

Judges

Judges score team deliverables, provide feedback, and help determine the overall winners. Their interactions with our young participants, whether written, virtual, or live, leave a lasting impact. We provide scoring rubrics and training to guide judging decisions.

You may sign up to judge any, or all, of the following deliverables. You will be sent the items to judge, along with a rubric, so this can be done at a time that fits with your schedule. The Live Q/A sessions will require you to participate in a virtual meeting with the student teams.

· Essays – Submitted on Nov 24. and judging between December 4 and December 22

· City Model (slideshows) – Submitted on December 22 and judging between December 24 and January 7

· Video Presentation – Submitted on January 8 and judging to be completed by January 12-13th

· Live Q and A – This will be on January 15th from 9 am to 11 am and will be done virtually

· Specialty Judging – We will have several categories for these awards; these will be judged in early January

The next step if you are interested is to sign up as a judge or a mentor on the website. We will then provide you with additional details and some brief training for judges.

Thank you so much for your interest in this very worthwhile program! Please contact Mary Beth Liles, Outreach Coordinator, with any questions.