Around the World in XX Days Using YY Ways

How it Works

Competition Metrics

There will be three mandatory requirements for this competition. No points will be awarded, but each must be satisfied. Your entry will be automatically dismissed if any of these requirements are not satisfied. Points will either be added or deducted based solely on the extras that are achieved. The following scoring system will be utilized:

• Start and end in New York at the Statue of Liberty. Day 1 will begin at 1500 (3PM EST) on Friday, March 20, 2020 (we want you back no later than May 26, 2020 so you can accept your award at the International Conference on Transportation and Development, to be held in Seattle)
• Arrange to pass through the 5 touch points—demonstrate travel around the world (must cross the Pacific Ocean or Bering Strait to do that)
• Use a minimum of 10 modes of transportation

Once your adventure has been authenticated as meeting these minimum requirements, the following scoring system will be assessed:

• Visit a location on the 6^thand/or 7^th continent not required by the itinerary (500-point bonus awarded for each continent visited).
• Each mode of transportation beyond the minimum of 10 will be given 100 points each. The mode chosen must be realistic for the terrain (i.e., do not try to bicycle across the Mediterranean Sea). Recognizing the possibility of using numerous modes of transportation within an urban area in a very short distance, minimum travel distances must be adhered to for various modes (see Table 1).
• Visit a project listed as an ASCE Historic Landmark and receive 100 bonus points for each location visited.
• Complete your trip in less than 20 days and you will receive 50 bonus points for each day under 20 days. You will be penalized 500 points for every day beyond 20 days.
• You must research and budget for each commercial mode of transportation (airline, long-haul bus, train, ship) used in your journey. Other modes of transportation will be available to you 24-7, but the distance traveled (minimum distances will apply, see Table 1) and the time of travel should be accounted for in your documented journey (diary and Excel summary, see Submittal requirements below). The submittal with the lowest cost will receive the greatest point total and the submittal with the highest cost will receive the least point total. All others between these extremes will receive proportionate point totals. [total cost of the journey – all costs must be converted to $US -- will be qualified by the judging panel, and the contestants will be scored with the lowest cost receiving the highest point score].
• You must arrive 2 hours prior to departure for any mode of transportation used that is run by a commercial company (i.e., airline, long-haul bus service, rail line, cruise line) and a receipt is required to show:
  • date
  • time of departure
  • time of arrival
  • departure city
  • arrival city
  • cost
  Exceptions to early arrival are MaaS (taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc.), mass transit (bus, light rail) and other services that are convenient and available around the clock for rent (cars, scooters, bicycles, animals, etc.); cost and time of travel can be computed using Table 1 information for these other modes.
• You are considered super-human; that is, you require no food or drink, nor do you require sleep or rest. As such, costs such as lodging and meals are excluded and can/should be ignored.

Submittals

Your submittal is required to be in a Word document and completed Excel travel template. Entries should contain:

• Title Page: Name, email address, College or University, year of study (Fr/So/Jr/Sr-undergraduate, MS or Ph.D. candidate) for each member of your team (up to 6 students – show which member of the team is traveling the fictitious journey)
• Show your trip path on a suitable World Map. Annotate where on the map you will be at the end of each day
• Provide a daily diary – trip journal – documenting each day of your journey. Make it interesting for the reader, and highlight the modes(s) of transportation used (e.g., landed at 09:15 at _______ International Airport, took an Uber to the train station, and boarded the train for a 13:45 departure to _____. The highlight of the day was a visit to a 180-year old covered wooden bridge in _____ and a hydro dam in ______.)
• Summarize your trip in tabular form using this Excel template.

Submission Deadline

Submittals are due by March 27, 2020 (6 p.m. EDT). Questions may be asked through ASCE Collaborate up to March 20, 2020. Submittals shall be electronically submitted to Debi Denney ( ddenney@asce.org). Students must include their ASCE membership number in the email. Student membership is free; sign up here. 

Award

It is anticipated that 3 finalists (individual or team) will be selected from the entry pool, based on a total point scale, as well as any WOW-factor the judging panel considers pertaining to the thrill of the adventure and the creative use of transportation modes integrated into your journey. These finalists will be notified by email of their selection by April 17, 2020 . Each of these 3 finalists will be invited to the ASCE T&DI flagship conference (ICTD) held in Seattle, Washington on May 26-29, 2020, and a $1,500 award fee provided to each finalist team to help offset the conference registration fee, travel, lodging and meal expenses.^{Note 1}

Note 1: If a team-entry is selected, the team is challenged to determine how many can represent the team at ICTD2020 with the $1,500 Award money.

Finalists' Presentations and Award Ceremony