The Plastics Industry Trade Association and SPI’s Future of Plastics Foundation are accepting entries for the plastic industry’s 2014 Student Video Contest. This year SPI and the Future of Plastics Foundation asked students to submit 2-4 minute videos on the theme of “Innovating in the 21st Century,” asking graduate and undergraduate students, as teams and/or as individuals, to explore the future of plastics in the realms of innovation, design freedom and the economics of plastics.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three submissions: the third place winner will receive a $3,500 cash prize, the second place winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and, for the first time in the competition’s history, the grand prize winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando, Fla. for NPE2015, the premier event for the entire plastics industry.
Prior contests have focused on the history of plastics and how the world’s brightest minds have relied on these materials to carry society into the modern era. “But the truth is that the story of plastic’s past has already been told; we want students to tell us the story of plastic’s future,” said SPI President and CEO William R. Carteaux when this year’s contest launched. “Many of the items that we take for granted today seemed like science fiction even a decade ago, but what innovations in plastic will we be saying that about in 10, 25 or even 50 years from now? That’s the question we want our best and brightest to answer in the 2014 Student Video Contest and its theme of ‘Innovating in the 21st Century.'”
The 2014 Student Video Contest is open to all full-time students in an undergraduate or graduate plastics program at any accredited postsecondary educational institution in the U.S. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality and how effectively the video promotes innovation in the plastics industry. They’ll be accepted until Nov. 30 and may be submitted on SPI’s Student Video Contest website.
SPI and the Future of Plastics Foundation thank this year’s sponsors: Maguire Products, Inc., Gardner Business Media, Inc., Novatec, Inc., Royce International, Davis-Standard LLC, Sumitomo Corp., Asahi Kasei Corp., BASF Global and Steinwall, Inc.
Founded in 1937, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association promotes growth in the $373 billion U.S. plastics industry. Representing nearly 900 thousand American workers in the third largest U.S. manufacturing industry, SPI delivers legislative and regulatory advocacy, market research, industry promotion and the fostering of business relationships and zero waste strategies. SPI also owns and produces the international NPE trade show. All profits from NPE are reinvested into SPI’s industry services. Find SPI online at www.plasticsindustry.org and www.inthehopper.org.
“From resin suppliers and equipment makers to processors and brand owners, SPI is proud to represent all facets of the U.S. plastics industry,” said William R. Carteaux, president and CEO, SPI. Our most recent economic reports show that the plastics industry as a whole is resilient, and has come through the recession significantly better than other U.S. manufacturing sectors.”
2014 Student Video Contest
SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association and The Future of Plastics Foundation are proud to present another great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. The 2014 student video contest continues where 2013 left off and promises to make the program even better.
This year’s theme, “Innovating in the 21st Century,”takes a fresh look at plastics as the material of choice as we dive head first into future innovations.
The contest is now open! Submissions will be accepted until November 30, 2014, 11:59 pm ET.
Why Plastics?
The plastics innovations that have had an impact on daily life are quite literally beyond measure. Today’s smartphones were impossible a mere decade ago, and without plastics would be impossible today. Virtually every plastic device or item taken for granted today, from a toothbrush to a complex life-saving medical device, was in the realm of science fiction when your parents were your age. Plastics provided the innovation platform necessary to turn these ideas into reality.
The Details
Produce a 2-4 minute video with a team (or by yourself) that explores the future of the plastics industry in the 21st century in the areas of innovation, design freedom and the economics of plastics. Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality and the effectiveness to which the video promotes innovation in the plastics industry. The rest is up to you!
Prizes
First Place: An all expenses paid trip* for the winning team to NPE2015 in Orlando, Florida – the premier event for the entire plastics industry! Visit www.npe.org for more information about the show.
Second Place: $5,000 to the winning team.
Third Place: $3,500 to the winning team.