• When does PennVention start?



• Who may participate?



• How large can a team be?



• How can I register for PennVention?



• How may ideas may I submit?



• Can I get course credit?



• What are the rules?



• How is confidentiality addressed by PennVention?



• What prizes are offered?



• Can I assume my Inspiration Round submission will be evaluated along with my Achievement Round submission?



• Can I submit my invention overview in any format?



• What opportunities are available for industry representatives to get involved?

Technically PennVention begins in early November with the Inspiration Round. This round is a non-competitive round and submissions will not be judged. The purpose of the Inspiration Round is to help inspire participants to create inventions and to provide them with mentoring and other educational opportunities, in preparation for the Achievement Round. The first competitive round of the competition does not begin until the Achievement Round, which closes on February 10th. Students can enter the competition during either the Inspiration Round or the Achievement Round. The Invention Fair will be held in early April.

Anyone may form or join a team, but each team must include least one degree-candidate student (undergraduate or graduate) at the University of Pennsylvania. One University of Pennsylvania degree-candidate must also be identified as the “Team Leader” in the registration process and MUST use their University of Pennsylvania email address when registering. Visit our Rules & Regulations page for more information.

A team may be as large or as small as needed. A team could consist of one person or more. Each team should decide how many people are necessary to effectively develop the invention. Visit our Rules & Regulations page for more information.

Eligible teams can participate by completing and submitting a registration form once applications open. To participate in the Inspiration Phase, you must register by the November deadline. You MUST also register for the Achievement Phase by the February deadline. Visit our Rules & Regulations page for more information.

A student team may submit as many inventions as they wish.

No. There is no course credit for participating in PennVention.

Visit the rules page to review the rules.

PennVention appreciates the concerns of the participants regarding confidentiality. Please visit the rules page.

PennVention offers many prizes. For a more detailed description of the prizes awarded, please visit the prizes page.

No! Judges for the Achievement Round (competitive round) are completely different from the ones from Inspiration Round. Inspiration Round submissions will NOT be available, in any form, to our judges in this round. It is not necessary to submit consistent ideas, designs or creations from one round to the next.

Submissions must be in .PDF format or otherwise will be disqualified. A half-dozen resources (most free) have been provided in the Forms and Downloads page that will convert documents to PDF format. Their availability or reliability is not guaranteed, but they are available as resources should they be required. The Weiss Tech House, Huntsman Hall and other areas on the University of Pennsylvania campus also have full versions of Adobe Acrobat available to students/team leaders.

For more information about becoming a PennVention mentor, judge or corporate sponsor, please contact Anne Stamer at stamer@seas.upenn.edu.