1. The competition is open to practising graduate engineers and post-graduate engineering students who are living, studying or working in IMechE Region 9 (Wessex), 10 (Western) or 12 (South Wales).  Students registered on the IGDS scheme run by the University of Bristol and/or the Rolls-Royce EEPDS are eligible, provided that they meet the age requirement.
   
2. The first prize of £500 will be awarded for the best combined written paper and oral presentation. Additionally, runners-up will be awarded monetary prizes.
   
3. Papers could be based on work that is being done for a further qualification eg MSc (IGDS), MSc, PhD, or any other formal professional development programme, or on an engineering project completed in the previous calendar year.
   
4. Each paper must be entirely the work of its author and be based on current or recent activities in the field of Aerospace. Papers must not have been previously submitted for any other prize competition, published in the proceedings of professional bodies or publicly presented. [Papers that have been presented internally, as academic assignments or reports of professional activity, are considered not to have been formally published or presented.] A statement to this effect must be included as a preface to each paper submitted.
   
5. All authors must obtain permission from their employers/tutors, where appropriate, to publish any work that is considered proprietary; all papers will be distributed to adjudicators and will be returned to their authors or destroyed on completion of the competition. All authors must also include a statement that they were aged 35 or under on Wednesday 31 January 2008.
   
6. The adjudicating panel, appointed by the WAC Committee, will consist of at least three members, including senior professional engineering staff from the Region’s leading Aerospace companies.
   
7. A short list of up to four papers will be selected by the adjudicating panel and the authors of those papers will be invited to the Presentation Evening, where they will make an oral presentation of their paper of no more than 30 minutes duration, including questions. 
   
8. The adjudicating panel will assess each paper and presentation (giving equal weighting to each part) and the winner will be announced at the end of the Presentation Evening. Photographs of the event and a short biography of the winner, together with an abstract of their paper, may be published in IMechE literature and on the website. 
   
9. Papers are to be submitted to the Hon Secretary of the WAC, wacsec@imeche.org, preferably in soft copy. Authors intending to submit hard copy should contact the Hon Secretary for mailing instructions.

Issued by the WAC Committee, October 2007