Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF)

Participation in the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair is contingent upon abiding by the rules stated below: 

• SSEF is open to all (Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners) secondary and pre-university students studying in MOE schools and who are between the ages of 15 and 19 years as of 1 May 2024. Shortlisted applicants from the Preliminary Judging round will participate in the SSEF Final Judging round.
• Projects for SSEF can be submitted either as an individual or a team project. Each SSEF team must comprise not more than three members.
• Only one project (individual or team) can be submitted per student. Students who submit more than one project may be disqualified from the competition.
• Interested applicants must successfully complete the online registration by 5 Jan 2024 5pm for their projects and submit their documents to be considered in the entry of the competition. Late online registrations will not be entertained. 
• As SSEF is an Affiliated Fair of ISEF, it is necessary for SSEF participants to familiarise themselves with the ISEF International Rules and Guidelines as those rules are applicable to SSEF as well.
• Top winners of SSEF who are chosen to represent Singapore in the ISEF must be Singaporeans or PRs.
• For a research project to be eligible for SSEF, only research work conducted between 1 Jan 2023 and 4 Jan 2024 should be reported. The total duration of research done should not exceed 365 days. Refer to the table below for examples of eligible and ineligible research periods.

Research Start Date	Research End Date	Eligible?
1 Jan 2023	4 Jan 2024	No
1 Jan 2023	31 Dec 2023	Yes
1 Jan 2023	2 Jan 2024	No
5 Jan 2023	4 Jan 2024	Yes

The timeline for registration and submission of projects is provided below for reference: 

Step	Activity	Deadline
1	Registration Registration for SSEF 2024 Main Category is open from 20 Nov 2023   Each participant can only submit 1 project. For the team project, only 1 form should be submitted by the team leader.     Each Project must submit the following project documents: Abstract Report	5 Jan 2024, 5pm (Open from 20 Nov 2023)
2	Submission of Registration Forms Students of projects which have been registered successfully would need to submit their registration forms to their respective schools’ SSEF Coordinators. The forms include: SSEF entry form ISEF forms Schools’ SSEF Teacher Coordinators would need to collate and submit registration forms of projects from their schools. Details will be provided to SSEF Teacher Coordinators via email. Please check for the completion of the Parent/Guardian Consent Form that is on the last page of the SSEF 2024 Entry Form.	10 Jan 2024, 5pm (Open from 2 Jan 2024)

Project entries without online registration will not be considered for the fair. Late entries will not be allowed to participate in SSEF 2024.

• All Main Category participants are required to complete the form here.
• Students who are participating in the Junior Scientist Category are required to complete the form here.
• Only one form is required per project for participation in SSEF.
• Click here for our guide to completing the SSEF Registration forms. Do note that you will have to download the document to make full use of the navigation features.
  

As SSEF is an Affiliated Fair of ISEF, all project entries must be accompanied by the relevant ISEF forms.

• Please click here to access the ISEF Rules Wizard. This wizard will help you determine what forms and approvals are necessary before beginning your research project intended for competition at SSEF and ISEF. You must print out the results of the Rules Wizard and submit it with your SSEF entry form.
• To download the ISEF forms, please click here.
• All individual and team projects must submit the following forms:
  • ISEF Rules Wizard Confirmation Printout (see example here);
  • Form 1: Checklist for Adult Sponsor;
  • Form 1A: Student Checklist, with Research Plan / Post Project Summary attached;
  • Form 1B: Approval Form;
  • Form 1C: Regulated Research Institutional/Industrial Setting; required if the project has an external research mentor supervising the student research, either virtually or on site, conducted at a Regulated Research Institution, industrial setting, or any work site other than home, school, or field. Please keep a copy of Form 1C which would be required in hardcopy for the judging at the Fair.
• Members of a team project should jointly submit Form 1, Form 1A and a Research Plan.
• In addition, projects that involve human participants, vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological agents and hazardous substances or devices will require review and approval by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and/or Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to experimentation. These projects require other ISEF forms stated in the table below. Refer to the ISEF International Rules and Guidelines for more information about the forms required.

Form	Description
(1) Checklist for Adult Sponsor	Required for all projects.  To be completed before experimentation.
(1A) Student Checklist Form and Research Plan	Required for all projects.
(1B) Approval Form	Required for all projects.  A completed form is required for each student, including all team members. To be completed before experimentation.
(1C) Regulated Research Institutional/ Industrial Setting Form	Required for projects with an external research mentor supervising the student research, either virtually or on site, conducted at a Regulated Research Institution, industrial setting, or any work site other than home, school, or field. To be completed and signed by a Designated Supervisor or Qualified Scientist after experimentation.
(2) Qualified Scientist Form	Required for projects that involve human participants, vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological agents and DEA-controlled substances. To be completed and signed by a Designated Supervisor and/or Qualified Scientist before experimentation.
(3) Risk Assessment Form	Required for projects involving human participants, potentially hazardous biological agents and DEA-controlled substances. To be signed before experimentation by Designated Supervisor or Qualified Scientist.
(4) Human Participants Form (with Human Informed Consent Form, if applicable)	Required for all research involving human participants, not at a Regulated Research Institution. If at a Regulated Research Institution, use institutional approval forms for documentation of prior review and approval.  IRB approval is required before experimentation.
(5A) Vertebrate Animal Form	Required for all research that involves vertebrate animals conducted in a non-regulated research site, e.g. home or school.  SRC approval is needed before experimentation.
(5B) Vertebrate Animal Form	Required for all research that involves vertebrate animals conducted at a Regulated Research Institution.  IACUC approval is needed before experimentation.
(6A) Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Risk Assessment Form	Required for all projects using fresh/ frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human and other primate established cell lines and tissue cultures), primary cell cultures, blood, blood products and body fluids. SRC/IACUC/IBC approval is needed before experimentation.
(6B) Human Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form	Required for all projects using fresh/ frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human and other primate established cell lines and tissue cultures), primary cell cultures, blood, blood products and body fluids. All projects using any tissue listed above must also complete Form 6A.  If the research involves living organisms, please ensure that relevant forms for human participants or vertebrate animals are completed.  To be completed before experimentation.
(7) Continuation Projects Form	Required for projects that are a continuation/ progression in the same field of study as a previous project. This form must be accompanied by the previous year's abstract and Research Plan.

Click here for our guide to completing the SSEF Registration forms. Do note that you will have to download the document to make full use of the navigation features.

Each project should submit the following a project abstract and report via the link (which will be provided to teacher coordinators) between 20 Nov 2023 and 5 Jan 2024, 5pm. Applicants are strongly advised to complete and submit the documents as early as possible. 

Students are advised to type their project abstract, report and Research Plan using 12-point Times New Roman font (or equivalent) with 1.5 line-spacing. 

The requirements for ALL project documents are in the following table:

REQUIRED to be included on the upper right-hand corner of each page	NOT to be included on any document
Project Code (eg AS001)* Project Title Names of students   *Project Codes will be generated during the registration process	Names/logos of schools Names/logos of research institutes Names of teacher/research mentors Acknowledgements section

The project documents comprise the following:

Project Abstract is a concise summary of the report with no more than 250 words or less than 1800 characters, which will be used during project judging and for visitors during the public day. It should not include acknowledgements (such as the name of the school, name of mentor or research institutions) or external endorsements.

Project Report describes the actual laboratory, field or theoretical research (not library research) for the project. It should involve ideas and preferably, data generated by the student. Credit should be given to the appropriate source and reference.  It should include (a) Background and Purpose of the research area, (b) Hypothesis of the research, (c) an Experimental section including Methods and Results, (d) Conclusion including a Discussion of the Results and Implications and (e) Bibliography of References.  Students are advised not to exceed seven pages, inclusive of data in tables, figures and diagrams. References and appendices do not count towards the seven-page limit. To ensure fairness across submission, judges have been advised that they can ignore any part of a report that exceeds the seven-page limit.   Please click here for the suggested template.

Note that the research plan and post project summary should be attached with ISEF Form 1A and submitted with the other forms. 

The judging criteria for SSEF 2024 are as follows:

Pre-judging Criteria	Weighting (%)	Final Judging Criteria	Weighting (%)
Research Question/Problem	10	Research Question/Problem	10
Design and Methodology	20	Design and Methodology	20
Execution	25	Execution	25
Creativity	20	Creativity	20
Presentation (based on the written report)	25	Presentation (Total 25%)	Poster - 7 Interview - 18

Each criterion has been elaborated, please click here for the Pre-Judging criteria and here for the detailed Final Judging criteria.

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entertained.

More details about the presentation materials required for Final Judging will be provided at a later date.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the official ISEF website to view past projects and obtain other information that may be pertinent to SSEF.

A school-based SRC may be formed to assist the Affiliated Fair SRC in reviewing and approving projects. All SRC members must be familiar with the ISEF Rules and Guidelines during the review process. These guidelines are intended to ensure the safety of students, to protect the subjects and environments studied and to limit the liability of the adults who assist with the projects. Hence, it is important that the SRC ensures all projects abide by these rules and guidelines.

 
An IRB is a committee that must evaluate the potential physical and/or psychological risk of research involving humans. All proposed human research must be reviewed and approved by an IRB before experimentation begins. This includes a review of any surveys or questionnaires to be used in the project.

The Affiliated Fair SRC may override the decision of a school-based SRC/IRB if the decision is deemed inappropriate.

The ISEF International Rules and Guidelines further elaborate on the composition and responsibilities of the review committees. Schools that are interested to set up their SRCs/IRBs are to complete the acknowledgement form here and submit via email to upstream@science.edu.sg or mail it to:

Attn: Science Upstream (SSEF 2024)
Science Centre Singapore
15 Science Centre Road
Singapore 609081

A reply endorsing the setting up of any new school-based SRCs/IRBs must be given by the Fair Director before the review committee can perform their role.

The Junior Scientist Category under SSEF is open to all budding and passionate scientists who have conducted research and projects in the preceding year either as Secondary 1 or 2 students.

Students are required to submit a science or engineering project that they have done as an individual or a team of not more than three members and present their ideas to judges during SSEF.

Outstanding projects stand to win attractive prizes.

Participation Rules:

• The competition is open to all (Singaporean, PRs and Foreigners) Secondary level students studying in MOE schools.
• Projects can be submitted as an individual or team projects of up to three members.

Submission Procedure

Interested participants are to follow the following steps to register and submit the relevant documents by the stated deadlines.

Step	Activity	Deadline
1	Registration and Submission of Project Documents Each participant can only submit 1 project. For team projects, only 1 form should be submitted by the team leader. Registration and the submission of project documents for SSEF 2023 Junior Scientist Category will open on 21 Nov 2022. Each Project must submit the following project documents: Abstract Report	5 Jan 2024, 5pm   (Open from 20 Nov 2023)
2	Submission of SSEF Entry Form Students of projects which have been registered successfully would need to submit their SSEF entry form to their respective schools’ SSEF Teacher Coordinators.  Schools' SSEF Teacher Coordinators to collate the entry forms and submit to the organising committee. Please check for the completion of the Parent/Guardian Consent Form that is on the last page of the SSEF 2023 Entry Form. Details on submission will be provided via email.	10 Jan 2024, 5pm  (Open from 2 Jan 2024)
3	Submission of Video A short video (max 2 minutes) will be part of the entry requirements for the competition. Details of the rules and how participants submit the videos can be found here. All Junior Scientist projects must submit a video via the SSEF portal as part of the competition.	2 Feb 2024, 5pm
4	Video Contest: Public's Popular Vote	19 Feb 2024 to 1 Mar 2024, 5pm
5	SSEF Final Judging Day	5 Mar 2024

Click here to view the SSEF 2024 Junior Scientists' videos!

SSEF 2023

Click here for the list of SSEF 2023 Award Winners.

Click here for the list of SSEF 2023 Junior Scientist Award Winners.

SSEF 2022

Click here for the list of SSEF 2022 Award Winners.

Click here for the list of SSEF 2022 Junior Scientist Award Winners.

Click here for the SSEF 2022 eBooklet!

SSEF 2021

Click here for the list of SSEF 2021 Award Winners

Click here for the list of SSEF 2021 Junior Scientist Award Winners

Click here for the SSEF 2021 eBooklet

SSEF 2020

Click here for the list of SSEF 2020 Award Winners

Click here for the list of SSEF 2020 Junior Scientist Award Winners

SSEF 2019

Click here for the list of SSEF 2019 Award Winners.

Click here for the awards received by the Singapore representatives at the ISEF 2019.

SSEF 2018 

Click here for the list of SSEF 2018 Award Winners.

Click here for the awards received by the Singapore representatives at the ISEF 2018.

SSEF 2004 to 2017

Click here for the list of SSEF 2004 to 2018 Award Winners.

Click here to access the past virtual fringe activities.