📅 Sprint Dates: 19–26 June (submit by 25 June, 11:59pm)

Eligibility

TheFirst Spark Challenge is open to students and young builders across Singapore, including JC, polytechnic, IHL, university students, and NSmen.

Project and Submission Requirements

Each submission must include:

  • Project name and all team members
  • Problem statement and target user
  • 2–3 sentence solution summary (challenges and accomplishments)
  • Demo video (max 3 minutes)
  • Live demo link, prototype link, or screenshots
  • Pitch deck (10 slides max) — used for your 3-min on-stage pitch if selected
  • Tools used (OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Supabase, Vercel, Replit, etc.)
  • GitHub repo, Figma file, technical architecture, user feedback

 

 

Prizes

🥇 1st Place

  • $25,000 worth of OpenAI credits
  • 3 months ElevenLabs Pro tier per team member (worth $297/member)

🥈 2nd Place

  • $15,000 worth of OpenAI credits

🥉 3rd Place

  • $10,000 worth of OpenAI credits

🏆 Best Project Built with ElevenLabs

  • 6 months ElevenLabs Scale tier per team member ($1,980 value/member)

🎤 All Selected Pitchers (top demo teams)

  • Invitation to The Shippers' Table dinner (invite-only, with speakers and partners)

 

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

         
Challenge-Solution Fit (20%) 1. Does the project meaningfully solve the challenge statement? Does it solve a meaningful problem or clearly improve a real-world task?
2. Is the target audience or use case well-defined?
3. Does the solution directly address the core bottleneck, not just symptoms?
AI Leverage and Technological Execution (25%) 1. Does the core product work reliably during the demo?
2. Are APIs integrated in a way that adds real value (not superficial usage)?
3. Is there evidence of custom logic, workflows, or system design (not just boilerplate)?
4. Is the architecture sensible for the problem (data flow, modularity, etc.)?
5. Does the solution go beyond a simple wrapper around an LLM?
Product Thinking & UI/UX (20%) 1. Is the user flow and interface clear, intuitive, and easy to navigate?
2. Does the product reduce friction vs current alternatives?
3. Is the output/actionable value obvious to the user?
4. Does the solution feel like a complete experience, not just a feature?
Originality & Insight (20%) 1. Is the approach differentiated from typical solutions?
2. Does it reframe the problem in an interesting way?
3. Does it feel like something that could evolve into a strong product?
Evidence of Real Demand (15%)
(Not expected, but would be a differentiator) 		1. Did the team speak to users (interviews, surveys, quick validation)?
2. Do they show evidence of:
1. pain points
2. user behaviour
3. real workflows
3. Have they validated assumptions, even lightly?
4. Do they demonstrate insight beyond guesswork?