Intro :
The world urban population has grown at very high rates over the past two decades. According to the UN-HABITAT State of the World Cities Report 2008/2009, it is estimated that by the middle of the 21st century, half of the world’s population will be living in urban areas.

While the urban population in developed countries will remain unchanged in the next two decades, the urban populations in the developing world will more than double. The majority of city inhabitants in the developing world are overwhelmingly young people, and are the most affected by issues of poverty, exclusion, and unemployment, access to housing, water and sanitation.

The theme for this year’s UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum which is being held in Rio de Janeiro from 22 to 26 March, “The right to the City– bridging the urban divide” seeks to engage practitioners and policy makers to rethink the urban utopia and identifying the best practices and actions in every city, creating a better world where everyone can live with dignity, respect and citizenship.

Young people living in urban areas can play a significant role in addressing the challenges facing decision and policy makers planning for and managing cities. Young people from around the world participating in the World Urban Youth Assembly on 19 and 20 March will have an opportunity to deliberate and make recommendations to better inform the urban agenda.

UN-HABITAT invites youth from around the globe to participate in the World Urban Youth Assembly International Essay Competition to generate ideas and solutions to address youth challenges in cities.

Essay Theme: “Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide”
Write an essay about the youth challenges in cities today, using your city as an example, to address the following questions: Identify and briefly present the challenges young people face in cities and provide solutions. From a youth perspective, identify the underlying issues that prevent the full inclusion of youth in shaping the urban development agenda. In your view, what can young people, working with their peers, community, local authorities and municipalities do to increase youth participation in urban planning and managing cities? We encourage you to give personal experiences and practical solutions

Essay Guidelines:
The International Essay Competition is open to all young people, students and non-students alike, between the ages of 18 and 32, from all countries of the world.  Essays should be typewritten and be no more than 1,000 words.
Essays must have a cover page indicating, essay title; name of author, postal address, telephone number, e-mail address(s), nationality, sex and age as of March 19, 2010.  All essays must be submitted by e-mail in PDF or MS Word format, with the cover page and essay sent together as one document in English to the essay competition mail: victoria.chebet@unhabitat.org and partners@unhabitat.org  Essays must be written by one person. Co-authored essays will be disqualified.  Essays must be original and unpublished

Deadline:
Entries must be received by 28 February 2010 at victoria . chebet @ unhabitat . org and partners@unhabitat.org Awards: The following awards will be given respectively: 1st Prize: Roundtrip economy ticket to attend the World Urban Youth Forum (19 and 20 March) and World Urban Forum (22 to 26 March) in Brazil and one Netbook 2nd Prize: One High Density Camera 3rd Prize: One Digital Camera

ForMoreDetailsVisitThisURL: http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=531&cid=7844

Detail :
Vinnoite Media is organising an international virtual trading competition – Vinnex International Championship 2010 from 15th March, 2010 to 11th April, 2010 with an aim of having students all across the world to compete on a single platform and polish their investing skills. This event will cover over 1200 universities across 5 countries with over 100,000 participants competing for the top spot

Event will be organised from 15th March to 11th April 2010 on multi exchange (NSE, India and NYSE,USA) trading platform

Prizes
There will be daily, weekly and over all prizes of worth Rs 200000/- or   $ 4500

Contact
For sponsorship / advertising/ partnership related queries , please feel free to contact us at advertise@vinnex.org

Rules :
VIC2010 is an individual participation event and the registration will be online. Only the players playing on http://vinnex.org would be considered for prizes of VIC 2010. On sign up, every participant gets virtual INR 600000 which can be invested in the available instruments on Vinnex platform. Brokerage for all trades in spot and F&O market transaction is .05% of the total transaction amount. Timings of markets : NSE 9:55 AM to 3:30 PM and NYSE 8:45 PM to 2:15 AM. All the timings are according to Indian Standard Time (IST : GMT + 05:30) Any kind of bug exploitation, multiple account creation or other malpractices would lead to disqualification and would be severely dealt with. The rankings page displays the investors in a descending order considering the cash-in-hand and spot market scripts. They do not include the F&O contracts. The rankings list would be declared after settlement of all the contracts and would be considered final. The winners would receive prizes on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The maximum delivery time for the prizes is 45 days.

Source :  http://vinnex.org/vic2010.php

Institute Name :
IIT Madras

Details :
An Entire Generation of India’s Brightest Students is Galvanized into Tackling Sustainability, Climate Change and Energy Security

IIT Madras Finalist Team (Greenext Technology Solutions) from 2009 Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition™ Wins First Coveted ‘Next Idea’ Prize from New York City. Here’s a link to the story. Here’s the coverage on NDTV 24×7.

IIT Madras to host the 2010 Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition™, India, in Chennai, April 1-3, 2010.

IIT Madras is to be the Education Partner of Asia’s first and most prestigious sustainable/cleantech venture competition in 2010. The competition is now in its third year, and comes on the heels of the phenomenal success of the second official Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition™ at IIT Kharagpur, November 6-7, 2009. The schedule for the competition is available here. Rules and Regulations for the competition can be downloaded here. Download the poster for the competition here. For a Sample Business Plan Format click here.

Cash Prizes of Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 70,000 will be awarded to the winners and runners up

Contact :
Prof. Oopali Operajita
CEOCicero, A Trans National Advisory
3rd Floor, ‘Ranka Chambers’
31 Cunningham Road Bangalore 560 052
Karnataka India
Email: cicerotransnational (at) gmail (dot) com

Source : http://www.cicerotransnational.com/agstvc.html

The 2010 Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition

Institute Name:
K-Circle

Quiz date: January 30, 2010

About KC :
In 1972, a group of quiz-inclined individuals decided to meet once a week for a quiz. They called themselves K-Circle . . .What does K stand for? Knowledge some say though nobody’s sure – and what’s more, nobody’s bothered! All in keeping with our policy of nonchalance

A motley group without question, KC has members of all shapes & sizes and no forms!! A truly informal club, we don’t even have a form for new entrants to fill. No frills, no badges, no pins/medals, no passwords, salutes or fancy furniture . . . if you come in late you just may have to perch on the window sill!

Registration:
Send a mail to kckcircle@gmail.com with names and Email IDs of team members to register. Prior registration is a must.

Location :Indian School of Business , Hyderabad

Timing:
Please reach the venue by 10am
Prelims:  10.30am to 11.15am
Final:       11.45pm to 1.30pm

Teams:
Teams of two. You and your partner can be from different institutions

Prize Money:
Total Rs 5000/- for the top three teams

Source : http://sites.google.com/site/kckcircle2/events

Institute Name:
Microsoft

Microsoft is orgazining the Student Rally Photo Competition. The idea behind the contest is to get students to photograph their favorite spot on campus, then get their friends to vote for their favorite photo. Students are encouraged to participate because it’s a fun way to express their creativity, show off their school, and get a little of the competitive spirit going with the voting round. Each month they will host a new challenge and a new chance to win. Check out this month’s challenge to be one of the ten students to win the annual Microsoft Student Rally award.

Theme: View from Campus

Eligibility :
The Microsoft Student Rally Contest (the “Contest”) is open only individuals who (i) are not residents of Cuba, Burma/Myanmar, Quebec, Iran, North Korea, Sudan or Syria, (ii) are at least sixteen (16) years old at the time of entry (eighteen (18) years old or older if a resident of Maine), (iii) are actively enrolled at an accredited educational institution that grants high school, college or university degrees and (iv) did not purchase any products, services or equipment for the purposes of entering this Competition. Employees of Microsoft Corporation (”Microsoft”), ePrize, LLC, and any of their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.

Timing: The Contest begins on November 4, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (”ET”), ends on March 31, 2010 at 11:59 p.m

How to Enter:
During the Promotion Period, visit http://www.microsoft.com/student follow the instructions to create or log into your Microsoft Student Rally account (the “Account”), including, but not limited to, your first and last name, date of birth, gender, home mailing address (P.O. Boxes not permitted), graduation date and email address. Creating an Account is free. Once logged into your Account, you will be prompted to upload a Contest entry depicting a Sponsor selected theme in a medium (video, essay or photo) determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. There will be one (1) unique question posed per Monthly Contest. Submit your Contest entry to the question posed in the medium required by Sponsor before the end of the respective Monthly Contest to receive one (1) entry into that Monthly Contest and one (1) entry into the Annual Contest. Each question will surround the general theme of how technology works for you while you learn, work and play.

For All Submissions: By uploading your Submission, you agree that your Submission conforms to the Submission Guidelines and Content Restrictions as defined below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove your Submission and disqualify you from the Contest if it believes, in its sole discretion, that your Submission fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions

Prizes :
(a) Annual Contest Prizes: ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: A prize package consisting of a most valuable student award and certificate; the opportunity to work at Microsoft the summer or academic year directly following the award; and $10,000 USD to be applied to one (1) year of tuition at a qualifying, accredited college or university; Approximate retail value (”ARV”): $20,000 USD. NINE (9) RUNNER-UP PRIZES: A most valuable student award and certificate and $5,000 to be applied to one (1) year of tuition at a qualifying, accredited college or university. ARV: $5,000 USD.
(b) Monthly Contest Prizes: Monthly Contest Prize details and descriptions are set forth in the details of each Monthly Contest accessed by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/student. ARV: $250 USD.

For All Prizes: Prizes and their respective components are non-transferable and no substitution will be permitted unless Sponsor, in its sole discretion, determines otherwise. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion. Each winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes and any other costs, expenses or fees associated with prize acceptance and/or use not specified herein as being provided. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

Source : http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/rally/

Institute Name :
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU)

Details :
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore instituted in the year 1997 a Gold Medal in the name of the distinguished jurist, late H.M. Seervai for the best original essay written on the themes specified in Indian Constitutional Law. Over the years since 1997, this essay writing competition has become a prestigious event for the law students all over India. The significant rise every year in the number of contributions from the student community shows their mark of respect and tribute to one of the greatest legal luminaries of our country – H.M. Seervai.

The theme selected for 2010 is “PROTECTION OF THE SCHEDULED TRIBES UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION: PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE”.

The Competition is open only for LL.B. students studying in any of the recognised Law Schools / Colleges / Departments of the Universities in India. The essay that is adjudged to be the best will be awarded a Gold Medal at the Annual Convocation of NLSIU, Bangalore.

Essay should be original (not published earlier or extracted from other sources) in English, not exceeding 10,000 words (approximately 30 double space typed pages, New Times Roman, font size 12) including footnotes and references, typed on one side of the A4 size papers. We request you to staple all the pages with an additional white page for first (title cover) and last page. Plastic wrappers and spiral bounds are generally discouraged to follow the eco-friendly practice.

Four copies of the essay should be sent to the following address on or before June 15, 2010 (5.00 P.M. ) to

Prof. V. S. Mallar
C/o. Examination Department
National Law School of India University
Nagarbhavi, Bangalore – 560 242

Contact :

National Law School Of India University
Nagarbhavi, P.B. No. 7201, Bangalore – 560 242
Phone : 91-80-23160525 /2316 0532/33/35
Fax : 91-80-23160525

Source :  http://www.nls.ac.in/seervaicompetition.htm

Institute Name:
National Law School of India Review

Details:
Herbert Smith LLP and the National Law School of India Review (NLSIR) are proud to announce the launch of the Second Annual Herbert Smith Essay Competition.

The competition is open to students from NLSIU ( Bangalore ), NALSAR ( Hyderabad ), NUJS (Kolkata), and NLU (Jodhpur ). The topic for the competition is “The Existence and Relevance of the McDowell Rule: An Analysis of the Use of the Corporation as a Vehicle of Tax Planning in light of Vodafone and the Direct Tax Code”. The last date for submissions is 27 January, 2010 . The winner of the competition may invited to present his/her paper at the 3 rd Annual NLSIR Symposium to be held on 10 & 11 April, 2010, if suitable.

Four prizes shall be awarded. The prize winners will receive a sum of Rs.25,000, 15,000, 10,000 and 7,500, respectively

Eligibility:

• The Essay Competition shall be open to all undergraduate students of:
• NLSIU;
• The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Calcutta (”NUJS”);
• National Academy for Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad (”NALSAR”);
• National Law University, Jodhpur (”NLU”),
• (together the “National Law Universities”) (the “Participants”).
• Each participant shall be permitted to submit only one, individual entry. Joint entries shall not be permitted.
• The essay submitted for the competition must be an original, unpublished and undistributed work authored by the participant submitting it

Evaluation Criteria:
The essays will be evaluated on the basis of the following:

• Identification of issues and legal analysis (25%);
• Clarity of presentation (25%);
• Suggested solutions to issues identified (20%);
• Depth of legal and commercial research (20%); and
• Formatting and proofreading (10%).
• Each criterion above shall be accorded the weight specified as a percentage in brackets alongside it.

Important Dates:
Deadline for Receiving Entries: January 27, 2010

Contact:
Venugopal Mahapatra,
Competition Coordinator,
+91 98861 72319

Source :  http://www.nls.ac.in/herbert.htm

Institute Name:
Rediff

Details:
Welcome to Rediff Social Media Wizards Contest 2010 – your chance to be crowned Social Media Wizards-2010 and win the top Prize of Rs. 100,000.

The objective of the contest is to create a Rediff Page (details given below) and popularise it within the given timeline. Even if you enter the contest a bit late, its not an issue. Your chances of winning depend upon how well you promote your Rediff Page! For detailed Rules, Refer to the Terms and Conditions tab.

To get you started with ideas for your Rediff Page, Look at the following ideas:

• Page For your institute itself – Show-case your campus, courses and invite alumni, experts etc. Get the fame your institute deserves!
• Page For your Department – Tell the world achievements of your department, the research therein and reach out to sponsors or industry gurus!
• Page For your favorite professor – Consolidate all their work – their blog, links to their articles or papers!
• Page For upcoming cultural events’ Page – Promote your events and invite sponsors. Update your fans about the programs real-time, as they happen, even through mobile.
• Page For your sports-teams – Go beyond college and inter-collegiate sports – announce your achievements to the fraternity across the globe and attract promoters of your sport.
• Page For bands in your college – Don’t let the bands stay within the campus boundaries, tell the world about their programs, and get an audience for a concert.
• Page For promoting placement activities – Highlight the successes of your institute, the batch profile, medals and accolades making it attractive for placements.
• Page For social initiatives undertaken by your college – Make your cause heard on the internet, invite followers and reach out to millions who can support the cause and take it to another level.

Terms and Conditions:

• Contest registrations start from Jan 11, 2010.
• Contest period is from Jan 11 to Feb 25, 2010.
• Team will be of 3 members – any number of teams from same institute can participate.
• Topic of the page is the choice of the team.
• All 3 team members should be current college students and all 3 from same institute.
• 1 student cannot be part of 2 teams.
• No offensive material is allowed – violating this will lead to immediate disqualification

Source : http://pages.rediff.com/wizards-2010/termsandconditions

Institute Name:
The Hydrogen Education Foundation
Email address: info@hydrogencontest.org

Details:
The annual Hydrogen Student Design Contest challenges university students to design hydrogen energy applications for real-world use.

Established in 2004 by the Hydrogen Education Foundation, the Contest showcases the talents of students in many disciplines, including engineering, architecture, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

The Grand Prize winning team is invited to present their design to experts in a keynote session of the National Hydrogen Association’s annual conference. Honorable Mention prize winners are also invited to present their designs in the poster presentations component of the conference. Cash prizes and awards are presented to the winning teams
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Contest Theme:
Designing a Hydrogen Community
The 2010 Hydrogen Student Design Contest will challenge university-level students to plan and design the basic elements of a hydrogen community in Southern California

Eligibility  :
The Hydrogen Student Design Contest is open to current college and university undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S. or abroad. Team members must be enrolled in a college or university at the time of the Contest but do not have to be enrolled full-time

Register :

• To register a team for the 2010 Contest, please fill out the form below. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
• Registration Deadline: January 22, 2010
• Haven’t organized a team yet? No problem. Work on putting the team together after registering your school for the Contest. Team rosters must be finalized by the registration deadline

Important Dates:
Registration Deadline: January 22, 2010
Entries Due: March 24, 2010
Winners Notified: April 7, 2010

Source : http://www.hydrogencontest.org/about.asp

Institute Name:
Karaditales

Details:
Karadi Tales is inviting contestants for their “Will You write with me” Story contest . This is an amazing opportunity to become a published author with Karadi Tales! All you have to do is finish what they’ve started! A renowned author has written the first half of a story for them . But they don’t know how it ends! Read the story and tell what you think should happen next. Complete the story within 800 words and send it to them. Please note, the minimum number of words to qualify as a valid entry is 700.

The three best entries will be published as an audiobook by Karadi Tales. And that’s not all! They also have a celebrated Indian icon waiting in the wings to lend voice to your story in the audio track!So what are you waiting for? Get cracking and email in your entries to us at contest@karaditales.com.

Eligibiltiy:
Open to everyone, irrespective of age, nationality and country of residence..
Important Dates:
Last date for receiving entries: February 28, 2010

Source : http://karaditales.com/contest.aspx