Once the team registers on the website, applies to the challenge, and signs and submits the competitor agreement, then the guideline document will be shared with the team leader.

There is no limit on the number of team members.

Hexachloroethane Smoke (HCE) is an important screening and signaling device used in civilian, military and law enforcement applications. However, HCE is toxic and has proven to be harmful to the environment and the people exposed to it. This competition will help develop an alternative to the existing smoke composition that will save lives and protect the environment.

The competition will be held in three rounds over 28 months. After each round, only the top teams will move to the next round. The exact timeline is provided on the challenge page.

In Round 1, the team will submit a high level research application including the research method and design. In Round 2, the shortlisted teams will submit a concept design detailing the approach so that the judging committee can assess the viability and competitiveness of the solution. In Round 3, each team (Finalist) will demonstrate their technologies in cooperation with Tawazun.

A total of AED 5 million in prize purses will be awarded as follows:

• In Round 2, a $300K [AED 275K] milestone purse will be used to award up to 4 finalists.
• In Round 3, a $1 million [AED 3.6 million] Grand Prize purse will be awarded to the winner.

Centurium Prize does not provide direct financial support to teams during or after competition, aside from the prize purses. However, Centurium Prize will support the teams by bringing competitors together through the platform, encouraging collaboration among teams, and by building an ecosystem of innovators, academics, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and industry partners.

Yes! Anyone can compete in a Centurium Prize competition. Teams from around the world are encouraged to enter and compete for the prize, minding the condition that international applicants must collaborate with UAE based universities or research institutions. Also, at least 40% of the work (including 40% of the research and development work) should be carried out in connection with the contestant in the UAE using students, employees and researchers of any UAE university or other UAE research institute with significant participation of Emirati nationals.

Register through researcher.ae and then apply for the Tawazun Competition by either creating a new team or by joining an existing team that is accepting new members. Teams are always seeking partners, supporters and resources to help them compete and win the prize, so we encourage you to reach out to these teams.

Yes! If you are interested in competing, please create a user on researcher.ae. Once you register, create a team and post an announcement mentioning the skills you are seeking from new team members. New applicants on researcher.ae can view your posting and send a request to join your team where you will be able to review their application and skills.

Many people in the open source community support the prize goals without competing. If you are in a similar field or have any resources to share, please contact us to see how you can serve as a resource to competing teams. For anyone who wants to broaden the impact of this prize, please share and help us spread the word to find the best innovators who can compete in this challenge.