N E Rowe Young Persons National Lecture Competition Rules & Procedures for Award of Medals 1. Introduction Issue 6a October 2016 The N E Rowe Award was established in 1956 by the Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society in honour of the valuable work done by N E Rowe when he was Chairman of the Branches Committee. The aim is to encourage people under the age of 30 to give oral presentations on aeronautical subjects at annual Branch Young Persons Lecture Competitions which should be made an enjoyable and worthwhile experience and give the opportunity to be entered in the annual National N E Rowe Award. Presentations in the 1950s would almost certainly have been made with reference to a written paper which formed an essential part of the entry. The paper was also used by the Branches Committee (BC) adjudicators to assess quality of the entry together with the assessment forms of local judges completed at the time of the aural presentation. The introduction of PowerPoint and other presentation software used to support the lecture has caused the written paper to become of less importance to the entrant when creating the presentation, and its requirement at the time of the Branch lectures might now prove to be a deterrent to participation in a Branch competition. The presentation media used can also help the BC adjudicators in their assessments. However, a written submission is still seen to be an essential part of the entry to the N E Rowe Competition by providing a written version of the aural lecture. The submission, ideally 2,000 to 3,000 words, is used by the BC adjudicators to assess the entry together with the local judges Branch Judging Proforma (Appendix 1) and presentation media if available. Confirmation: In order to encourage presentations to be made at local Branches a written submission is not required until the entry is submitted for the N E Rowe Competition. Ideally the BC adjudicators should see all presentations live through videos or similar media. This is not possible as long as some Branches are not permitted to record presentations on the premises where the competition is held. 1.2 Awards Two N E Rowe awards are available consisting of a Medal and a grant of 500. One to each of the following groups according to the age of the entrant at the time of the Branch presentation: 1 st Group Age less than 22 years old, 2 nd Group Age 22 or less than 30 years old. Only one medal may be awarded in each of the groups but a Certificate of Merit may be awarded to other entries judged to be of a suitably high standard. Unsuccessful entrants will receive a Certificate confirming their participation in the N E Rowe. RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 1/6
1.3 Summary of the Entry Process Entrants to the National N E Rowe Lecture Competition are normally selected from the winners of their local annual Branch Lecture Competition when a written submission is not required. Branch judges must record their comments and scores in the Branch Judges Proforma in Appendix 1. The written submission forms part of the N E Rowe entry, size 2,000 to 3,000 words, intended to cover the content of the presentation and not to expand over the material presented. The following items are to be sent to the N E Rowe secretariat, normally by email, as soon as possible before the closing date of the 15 th July: Branch Judging Proforma(s) (Appendix 1) used to judge the Branch presentation, Written submission, preferably as a pdf, Copy of presentation material used PowerPoint or pdf, or as easily readable media. (If the presentation was created using software such as Prezi which can only be run on an application not generally available, then if possible a copy of the visual output should be provided in the form of pdf slides or a video file transferred by a suitable means.) 2. Stewardship The N E Rowe Medal award is administered by the Branches Committee, which is the prime link between the RAeS and its Branches, and appoints the National Adjudicators, normally 5, who recommend the winners of the 2 groups and any Certificates of Merit to be awarded. The Branches Committee is responsible for publicising the event while encouraging Branches to hold Young Persons Lecture Competitions and to forward the name(s) of winner(s) to enter in this award. This publicity, including the rules and benefits of the N E Rowe competition, should be circulated at the start of the season when Branches are planning their future programme. 3. Procedure 3.1 The Local Branch Lecture Competitions The oral presentation is normally given at a Branch Lecture Competition when a written version of the lecture is not required in order to encourage entries to the local Branch competitions. This is also to ensure that judging at all Branches takes place solely on the basis of an oral presentation using the Branches Judging Proforma in Appendix 1. It is preferred that Branches submit the individual forms completed by each judge, but it is acceptable to submit a single form with scores and comments agreed by all judges. To encourage participation Branches should give prizes for presentations of a suitably high standard and publicise the results locally and to corporate partners as well as forwarding winner(s) to enter the National N E Rowe Lecture Competition. The lecture subject may be about any aspect of aerospace and topics associated with the aviation industry. The presentation is to be completed within a time limit set by the Branch (from 10 minutes to 30 minutes) followed by a question and answer session, and is assessed by local Branch judges who enter their scores and comments in the Branch Judging Proforma in Appendix 1. RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 2/6
To permit entry into the year s annual N E Rowe Lecture Competition the aural presentation must be held in the 12 months prior to the closing date of the 15 th July. This final date has been selected to encourage entries which could be based on undergraduate students research activities in the previous academic year, while enabling the entries to be assessed by the National Adjudication Panel and permit awards to be presented at the Young Persons Conference in November of the same calendar year. Exceptionally a presentation made in a previous year may be submitted if not entered before and may be accepted, for example if a competition could not be held in the current year. 3.2 The National NE Rowe Lecture Competition Presentation and Written Submission The following entry documentation should be sent by email to the N E Rowe secretariat as soon as possible but latest by the 15 th July: A. Branch Judging Proforma(s) in Appendix 1 containing the scores and comments of the Branch judges. B. Electronic version of the written submission, preferably as a pdf file. C. Copy of presentation material used PowerPoint or pdf file, or media as in 1.3. On receipt of the entry from the branch, the N E Rowe secretariat will as soon as possible: D. Confirm the validity of the entry Correct completion of the Branch Judging Proforma(s) (Appendix 1), correct composition of the written submission and readability of the presentation material if applicable. E. Advise the Branch of receipt, and if necessary - F. Advise the Branch of any items which require correction and give the opportunity to correct/return the items in the agreed timescale. [If possible the size of the electronic files for the written submission and the presentation should be small enough to be sent to personal email addresses according to the capability of current internet/communications systems. High quality graphics should be reduced in size but remain readable using a suitable reduction application such as NXPowerLite.] 4. Content of the Presentation and the Written Submission The entry should be the original work of the entrant. "Originality" in this context does not imply a new discovery but that the entry has been put together by original effort from appropriate sources and have not previously been prepared for any other public presentation. Flexibility is allowed where the presentation is based on a student s academic project when the content of the entry must have been prepared by the student with a minimum of supervision. Post-graduate research work co-authored by a Supervisor must include a letter of assurance from the Supervisor regarding the quality of the student s input. The adjudicating panel will take co-authoring into account when assessing the candidates. The submission is intended to be a written version of the aural lecture including relevant graphics used in the presentation. It is expected that the submission would be at least 2,000 words but it should not significantly expand upon the content of the lecture normally covered by a maximum of about 3,000 words. Brief appendices may be added in explanation and support of statements made in the lecture; also detailed supporting RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 3/6
material, such as references or mathematical derivations of formulae which are not suitable for oral versions. Reproduction of a complete PhD thesis would not be considered acceptable. Reference must be made to other material consulted to allow the reader to find the sources used. Direct quotations must be acknowledged as such. Diagrams must be capable of being readily understood in the oral presentation and in the written document. The submission will not be judged pedantically for its grammar provided arguments are clearly presented. Allowance may be made if English is not the entrant s first language. 5. Adjudication for the National N E Rowe Lecture Competition The National N E Rowe Lecture Competition will normally be judged by a Panel of 5 Adjudicators with a minimum of 2 members of the Branches Committee nominated on an annual basis by the Chairperson of the Branches Committee. Adjudicators should not judge entries from their local branch or those with a personal connection. The National Adjudication Panel reaches their recommendations using the Branch Judging Proforma (Appendix 1) which grades the oral presentations made at the Branch Competition, the written submission and presentation material if available. A weighting of 60:40 will be given respectively to the score of the local Branch on the Branch Judging Proforma and the score given by the National Adjudication Panel, to reflect the primary purpose of the award to encourage oral presentations at Branches. The National Adjudication Panel will recommend the winners of the N E Rowe Medal in the 2 groups, the award of any Certificates of Merit of suitable standard and confirm that remaining entries are to receive a Certificate Participation in the N E Rowe Competition. An award may not be made if no entries of sufficient merit are submitted. The recommendations of the National Adjudication Panel will be considered by the Medals and Awards Committee and ratified by the Council of the Society, before a final decision is announced. 5.1 Adjudication Timetable 1) At Start of Season: Members of the National Adjudication Panel, normally 5, are nominated consisting of a minimum of two Branches Committee members and up to up 3 co-opted members of the Society. 2) 15th July: By this date all N E Rowe entrants packages (Branch Judging Proforma(s) Appendix 1, written submission and presentation material) must have been received by the N E Rowe secretariat who verifies compliance with the Rules and distributes the packages to the National Adjudication Panel. 3) Mid-August: The National Adjudication Panel agrees the recommended winners and the N E Rowe secretariat forwards the recommendations to Medals & Awards Committee in time for their late August meeting. 4) The recommendations are forwarded to Council for ratification at the September Council meeting, then all entrants are notified and thanked for their participation. 5) Mid November: Presentation of Awards at the Young Persons Conference. The timing of the last three items may change according to the exact dates of the Medals and Awards Committee and Council meetings. RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 4/6
6. Presentation of Awards The Medals and Certificates of Merit are presented at the Young Persons conference, held annually in November in 4 Hamilton Place. Winners shall be invited to the conference following the ratification of their nomination by Council and shall attend the conference as guests of the Young Persons Committee, together the other entrants of the competition. 7. Publication If considered suitable, any submissions(s) submitted for the Award may be published in the Society s publications. Submissions which were not awarded an N E Rowe Medal or a Certificate of Merit can be submitted for the RAeS Young Persons Written Paper award. N E Rowe Young Persons National Lecture Competition Summary of Rules & Procedures for Award of Medals 1) The Medals are to be known as the N E Rowe Medals and are awarded for the best oral presentations and written submissions on an aeronautical subject by Young Persons in 2 groups according to their age at the time of the aural Branch presentation. 2) A Medal is to be awarded for the best presentation given before any Branch of the Society and submission by a Young Person less than 22 years old. A Medal is to be awarded for the best presentation given before any Branch of the Society and submission by a Young Person age 22 or less than 30 years old. 3) A monetary Award of 500 will be given to the Medal Winners. 4) A "Certificate of Merit" may be awarded to recognise entries of a suitable standard in both groups. 5) A Certificate of Participation will be given to entrants who have not received an award. 6) The entry material should not have been published previously or considered for an award. The oral presentation should normally be made to an audience at an RAeS Branch Lecture Competition which may carry local awards. 7) The presentation, excluding discussion, is to be completed in a period between 10 and 30 minutes, as agreed by the Branch. 8) To qualify for the year s entry, aural presentations should be made within the 12 months prior to the closing date of the 15 th July. Exceptionally earlier presentations may be accepted if not previously entered. 9) Entry documentation is to be sent electronically to the N E Rowe secretariat as soon as possible and before the closing date of the 15 th July, consisting of: Branch Judging Proforma(s) (Appendix 1) completed by the Branch judges, Written submission, preferably as a pdf file, Copy of presentation material used PowerPoint or pdf file, or media as in 1.3.. RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 5/6
APPENDIX 1 Submission for N E Rowe Medal Award Branch Judging Proforma Branch: DoB & Award Group: DoB: < 22 years old = 22 < 30 years old Presentation Date & Age: Pres n Date: Age: Title of Paper: Entrant Names: 2 nd in CAPS Judge s Names: 2 nd in CAPS Duration of Lecture Allocated: mins Taken: mins ASSESSMENT Each section is to be scored following the criteria suggested below. SCORE Timing Keeping the allotted time /5 Presentation of Case Adequacy of introduction, development of theme or topic, relevancy of conclusion /10 Standard of Oral Presentation Spoken delivery, audibility, speed, flow /10 Engagement with audience Eye contact, interaction, kept attention/interest /5 Standard of Visual Presentation Relevance, ease of reading and assimilation /5 Discussion Ability to answer questions, ability to clarify and elaborate to get the message over /10 General Originality, choice of subject, relevance, technical content, grasp of subject /15 TOTAL SCORE /60 Additional Judge s Name & Signature: RAeS N E Rowe Medal Awards - Rules & Procedures Issue 6a October 2016 - Page 6/6