FAQ

The key difference is the origin of the project-idea.

In Track 1 student-teams propose and develop their own project-ideas.
In Track 2 student-teams develop the project-ideas proposed by staff and clients of Berger-Levrault.

Yes.

Yes. In fact, to be considered for Track 2 each student-team must select at least two project-ideas from the list which they must indicate on their application form. The maximum is 3. (Note: The list of project-ideas for Track 2 will be available on the competition website on the date that the call for applications period begins.)

You can find the rules of the competition on this page.

No, but your project must be at least indirectly linked to ecology and the environment. For example, a smart-phone app that encourages local consumption has an indirect benefit for the environment. Another example: A platform that makes public administration services more efficient can reduce energy consumption and human traffic – which can also have an indirect benefit for the environment.

Software, mobile apps, online platforms, connected objects…we welcome a very large range of IT related project-ideas. But, in general, these are software solutions. In terms of sector, the range is also vast: health care and social services, education, solidarity and family, government and citizen services, urban management, local democracy, culture and tourism, security, transportation and mobility, telecommunications, the workplace, e-commerce and retail, etc. In short, we welcome projects related to every sector of the Smart City domain.

To be eligible for our competition you must be a student at one of our partner-schools. Click here to see the list of our partners.

Applying to the City’ZEN Challenge is easy. The first step is to make sure that the call for projects is open. Click here to see the calendar for the next edition. Next, you will need to choose your starting point. The City’ZEN Challenge consists of two parallel competition tracks:

• If you have your own project-idea, then start here (apply for Track 1).
• If you don’t have your own project-idea, then start here (apply for Track 2).

First, as nearly all project-ideas that are developed during the competition are software programs, mobile apps, online platforms, IoT solutions, etc., and as each team will have to produce a proof of concept for the final jury, it is absolutely necessary that at least one or two members of your team can code/program software, design mobile apps and/or online platforms, develop an IoT solution, etc.

Second, as our competition is international and the final jury is thus in English, it is also essential that your team can give an effective presentation in English.

These are the only two necessary skills your team will need to participate in the competition.

Between 2 and 6 (typically).

Yes, but on the condition that all team members belong to the same academic institution and this institution is a partner of the competition.

For example, two students from EPITECH Toulouse, 1 student from EPITECH Lyon and 2 students from EPITECH Montpellier – this is acceptable as all students are part of the same academic institution which is a partner of the City’ZEN Challenge.

Yes, but on the condition that the international students will be available and present to participate in the final jury in June. In other words, they must participate in the challenge from start to finish.

In addition, please note that in terms of the potential disbursement of prize money, this cannot be done with a university that is not an official partner-school of the competition.

Our goal is to select between 30 and 40 projects. For Track 1, 20 to 25 projects; for Track 2, 10 to 15 projects.

The most important element that each team must produce is a proof of concept (POC), which usually consists of mock-ups and is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the project. In addition, each team will also have to produce a final project report (50 pages max, in English) and a short promotional video. These three elements constitute the heart of each team presentation at the final jury. (For more information, please see the FAQ section related to the final jury.)

No. Due to legal issues related to labor law, taxes, etc., Berger-Levrault does not disburse prize monies directly to students. Instead, all prize monies are disbursed directly to the partner-schools in question, which will then disburse the funds to their students according to their own internal policies. (For example, some schools will deduct the amount from tuition fees for the following academic year while other schools will wire the money directly to the student’s bank account.)

Note: As Berger-Levrault has no authority or involvement in the internal financial policies of our partner-schools, it is the responsibility of each student-team to contact their school administration and inform themselves of such policies before deciding to participate in the City’ZEN Challenge. It is also their responsibility - before applying to the competition - to verify that their school can comply with Berger-Levrault's disbursement policy. In the case that the school cannot comply, then the student-team in question will be disqualified from receiving any prize monies resulting from their participation in the City'ZEN Challenge.

Typically, it takes 4 to 5 months to complete processing and thus for the prize money to be disbursed.

Each finalist-team will have a project coach who is an employee of Berger-Levrault and whose principal mission is to help her/his team to incubate their project and prepare for the final jury. The selection of coaches is based on several criteria, such as: level of professional experience, expertise related to the project-idea in question, project management skills, languages spoken, availability, etc.

All coaching activities typically begin in January and finish in June of each year. The frequency of coaching sessions varies from month to month depending on several factors, such as the specific needs of the team/project, the availabilities of the coach and her/his team, etc. On average, it’s a question of 2-3 hours per month.

All coaching sessions take place via a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel or, when possible, in person.

Yes, it is an obligation.

From the moment your team is selected to the competition and for a period of 3 years, Berger-Levrault becomes the owner of all intellectual property rights pertaining to your project (as indicated in the ‘Rules’ document on the competition website).

At the end of the 3-year period, BL will either

• A) negotiate a monetary payment with the team in question in order to permanently acquire those rights, or
• B) release the rights, thereby returning them to the team in question.

(Note: Of the more than 50 projects that have been selected for the competition (editions 1-5), Berger-Levrault has bought and thus, retained the rights of only 1 project.)

Because our company invests so much human and monetary capital in the competition and in the incubation of each project. In other words, because we add substantial value to each project.

(Note: If you think that you are able to incubate your project-idea on your own (with no operational expertise and capital investment from a third party), then this challenge is probably not the best option for you. But if you think that you could benefit from having a partner that can provide such assistance and investment, then please do consider joining us.)

No. The minimum deliverable for the final jury is a POC (proof of concept). But for those teams who do produce a prototype, it can represent a big advantage at the final jury.

During the competition, each team will have two important meetings with the competition manager in which they will give a presentation and be evaluated on the progress they’ve made in the realization of their projects. These are known as ‘The Two Progress Presentations’.
The resulting ‘two progress scores’ will be integrated into the overall evaluation at the final jury (for both Tracks 1 & 2). For Track 1 teams, these scores will also determine which teams advance to the final jury at the Qualification Round.

The qualifying round applies only to Track 1 and usually takes place in April or May (after the Two Progress Presentations), when at least 8 teams will be selected to advance to the final jury based on evaluations provided by the project coaches and the competition manager. The selection criteria for the qualifying round are, in general, three elements: level of motivation, level of progress realized and level of feasibility. (Note: There is no qualifying round for Track 2.)

1. The final project report which includes:

• A project summary (context, problematic, objectives, etc.)
• Presentation of the team
• State-of-the-art
• Technical and functional specifications
• A monetization model
• A deployment roadmap
  (50 pages maximum; in English)

2. The promotional video (2-3 minutes)
   The objective of the promotional video is simply to create a narrative around the solution which can facilitate comprehension and demonstrate functional value for potential users.

3. The proof of concept (POC) which demonstrates the functionality and feasibility of the project. The most common type of POC that our student-teams produce are mock-ups, though some teams also produce a prototype.

As indicated in the ‘Rules’ page on our website, the principal criteria are, but not limited to, the following:

• The level of technical complexity of the project
• The innovative nature of the project (a new approach, improvement of an existing solution, the creation of a new use or tool) (Track 1 only)
• The level of progress made with the project between the launch of the competition and the final jury (the minimum deliverables being the proof of concept and the final project report)
• The ability to finalize the project with a view to bringing it to market (feasibility)
• The presentation in front of the final jury (including a promotional video of 3-4 minutes)

The final jury takes place at our headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt (a suburb of Paris) in France. For teams who reach the final jury and are not located in Paris, either

• A) they will participate remotely (by video conference) or
• B) they will participate in person

In the case that you are invited by Berger-Levrault to participate in-person in the final jury, then Berger-Levrault will take in charge the following expenses for 2 or 3 members of your team:

• Airfare or train-fare (round trip, economy class)
• In Paris, transportation airport-hotel (round trip)
• Lodging: One or two nights in a hotel (depending on your point of departure, the duration of your flight, timetables, etc.)
• Food allowances (one to two days maximum)

(Note: If other/additional members of your team wish to come and participate in the final jury, those members will have to take in charge all relevant travel expenses themselves.)

Expenses not taken in charge by Berger-Levrault include:

• Visas and/or passports
• COVID and/or other health related tests/vaccinations, etc.
• Transportation domicile-airport
• Additional nights in a hotel
• The travel expenses for persons who are not members of your team (friends, family, school representatives, etc.)
• All other travel and lodging expenses

For current and precise information on this topic, students are invited to visit this webpage dedicated to job and internship offers at Berger-Levrault. The duration of internships varies according to country and offer but generally last between 2 and 6 months. We offer both domestic and international internships. The four relevant countries are France, Spain, Morocco and Canada.