Questions answered by the VHTP’s Project manager Eva Daigina

Can I participate in the competition if I study in the 12^th grade, but I am 19 years old?

The U.S Space & Rocket Centre’s "International SPACE CAMP®" is organized for the youth aged from 15 to 18 years. Compliance with this requirement is obligatory, that means, You have to be 15 to 18 years old during the camp, therefore, Your application for the competition cannot be supported.

Can I participate in the competition if I am 14 years old at the moment, but during the camp in summer I will be 15?

Yes, in this case, You can participate in the competition.

Do only pupils, who study in elementary and secondary schools, can apply for the competition, or those, who study in gymnasiums, boarding-schools or vocational secondary schools can also apply?

Pupils studying in any of before mentioned schools can apply, because the target audience are pupils of all-round secondary education and vocational secondary education institutions.

In what language should I prepare my work for competition?

Work for competition should be prepared in either Latvian or English.

Can I send You a personally signed document via e-mail? Or should it be sent directly by mail?

If You send Your work via e-mail, You should scan filled and signed application form and include it in the e-mail (the winners of competition will be asked to show the originals of documents after declaring the results).

If my work is a drawing, should I send it by mail, or can I photograph it and send You via e-mail?

We accept drawings for competition also in *.jpg format. In that case, it is essentially important to ensure that drawing is in an appropriate quality, so that evaluation committee could judge it properly.

If I am 18 years old, and during the trip I will also be 18, can I apply for the competition? Or do I need a notarial copy of birth certificate and documents named in paragraph 14.1.2. of the regulations (a notarially certified agreement of at least one parent or a guardian for independent travelling of the child over the border, or a power of attorney for travelling of the child over the border accompanied by the authorized person)?

If You will be 18 years old when leaving Latvia, You don’t need the documents named in paragraph 14.1.2. of the regulations and copy of the birth certificate. All You need is Your passport.

Should I prepare an entire project or only a presentation of the project to participate in the competition?

The work you prepare for the competition must display Your knowledge and/or ingenuity in the space sphere. Take into consideration that the evaluation committee will evaluate several works, therefore choose work you have greater chance to win the competition with.

Can the work be something really creative, something that involves seemingly impossible idea, something concerned with conjecture, something slightly related to tales, but of course based on strong facts about space?

You can, of course, submit a creative work for the competition. The main objective is to create work that is related to space industry, and to prove that You have knowledge and interest on this subject.

In the regulations as some possible works to submit are mentioned models of space ship, satellite etc. Do I need to draw the model of my space ship or create it as physical miniature, for instance, a foldable space ship?  

The way how you submit the model is up to you. Try to choose work You have greater chance to win the competition with.

What is meant by design and game in the regulations, where the possible works to submit are mentioned? Is it a computer game, a board game or a play?

Games could be different - computer games, board games or plays. With design we also understand various things, for instance, design of a space ship, design of clothing collection, design of dishes, room design for a scientific space centre etc.

Do You evaluate a well-developed work higher than the school report? All the subjects, of course, have received a pass.

Essentially important is the knowledge in English, the submitted work and the health condition. Of course, the submitted work should be well-developed, but also the marks in Your school report must comply with the competition’s requirements.

The documents for the competition should be submitted before I receive the school report of the current semester. What to do with my mark in English?

The mark in English in the first semester of current academic year is already in the school report, so taking into account this mark and the last year’s mark in English, it is possible to evaluate your current language knowledge.

If I submit a written paper, how lengthy it should be?

The length of the work is not determined in this competition, because we will evaluate the contents, not the amount of pages.

Will this competition be held in future?

Ventspils High Technology Park will try to attract the funding, in order to organize the competition annually.

Should I submit the application form before my work, or should I submit them together?

It would be preferable to submit the application form together with Your work, so that it would be easier for the evaluating committee to evaluate all the information.