IEEE Smart Village (ISV) Student Paper Competition 2025

Topic: Pioneering Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa’s Future

Abstract

As an aspiring electrical engineer eager to contribute to Africa’s energy landscape, What does sustainable energy mean to you and why do you think it is critically important for Africa’s future?
The 12th IEEE PES & IAS PowerAfrica Conference (PAC 2025) invites you to submit a full paper sharing your narrative on the quest for sustainable energy in Africa. IEEE Smart Village is interested in how your ideas impact the underserved and how access to affordable, sustainable energy can improve access to education and income-generating activities.
Embracing the theme “Pioneering Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa’s Future,” we welcome papers that delve into diverse perspectives, whether technical, socio-economic, or policy-oriented. Share your insights on sustainable energy generation, smart grid innovations, energy access initiatives, or the intersection of technology and community  development. From case studies to theoretical frameworks to stories that touch on these technical subjects, we encourage submissions that offer fresh insights, challenge existing paradigms, and ignite dialogue. Your paper has the power to shape the discourse and drive actionable solutions for a sustainable energy future in Africa. Join us in amplifying the voices of innovation and progress. Submit your full paper and be a catalyst for change!

IMPORTANT DATES (Tentative!!!)

  • Call for submission: May 5, 2025
  • Due Date for Submission (UG & PG): July 7, 2025 (Undergraduate and Postgraduate)
  • Online interview for top-rated papers: Date TBD
  • Author notification: August 16, 2025
  • Award ceremony: During PAC 2025 (Undergraduate and postgraduate)
  • Due Date for Submission (HS): October 31, 2025 (High School)
  • Author notification: December 16, 2025

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We seek submissions that tell your story of sustainable energy and how it will benefit the underserved and is accessible to those without the expertise required to comprehend the specialized technical literature. You will write at a level that reflects the level of your education—papers from undergraduate students will have more technical content than those from high school students. The content of your papers should be easily accessible to your peers.
The winners of the PAC 2023 undergraduate and postgraduate competition have kindly allowed us to share their papers to help you see the type of entry we seek. Please do not think of this as a template.
To further help you understand that complex ideas can be expressed in straightforward language, we include copies of the papers describing the transistor (Bardeen & Brattain) and the DNA Helix (Watson and Crick)—all of whom won the Nobel Prize for their  discoveries.
Finally, we share a paper, Storytelling—The Missing Art in Engineering Presentations (Anderson). Although this focusses on presentations, the ideas also apply to written papers.
 

PAPER TEMPLATE

You can prepare your paper in Microsoft Word or LaTeX format. All submissions must follow the IEEE conference template which can be accessed at
https://template-selector.ieee.org/secure/templateSelector/publicationType


CATEGORIES OF PARTICIPATION

  • Category A: Postgraduate students
  • Category B: Undergraduate students
  • Category C: High school students

ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

All authors must be registered as students in an institution of learning at the time of submitting their paper

LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION

  • Individual paper
  • Group paper with a maximum of two authors

PAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR CATEGORY A & B

Undergraduate & Postgraduate: Length of paper 5 – 8 pages (double-column according to IEEE template)

PAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR CATEGORY C

High School Students: 3 – 5 pages (double-column according to IEEE template)

LINKS FOR PAPER SUBMISSIONS

Kindly submit your paper through EasyChair – ISV PAC 2025 Student Paper Contest using this link (TBD). We have prepared a document that helps you navigate EasyChair for the first time – find it here (attached).

Prior to uploading your papers, contestants should evaluate their own submissions using the rubric below (partially derived from the Rotary Club’s 4-way test (https://my.rotary.org/en/guiding-principles#):

  1. Is it the truth?
  2. Is it fair to all concerned
  3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
  4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

NOTE 1: Plagiarism of any kind is not permitted in the IEEE Smart Village Next Generation (ISV) Student Paper Competition. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines plagiarism as “the act of presenting the words, ideas, or work of another as one’s own” (APA, 2021). Hence, make sure that your writing is original and that you reference any work from other people. The maximum allowed similarity index is 20%.

NOTE 2: The IEEE states that the use of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in a paper (including but not limited to text, figures, images, and code) shall be disclosed in the acknowledgments section of any paper submitted to this contest. The AI system used shall be identified, and sections of the paper that use AI-generated content shall be identified and accompanied by a brief explanation regarding the level at which the AI system was used to generate the content.

NOTE 3: To assist the reviewers in evaluating the submissions, authors of the top 3 – 5 papers in each category shall be invited to an online interview with at least two reviewers for the purpose of ascertaining the contribution of AI to your paper. You should come to the interview prepared to answer detailed questions on any part of your narrative. Failure to demonstrate that you are responsible for the research and drafting of the paper will render you ineligible for an award.

PRIZES/AWARDS

The following prizes/awards shall be given to the winners and their host institutions:

Postgraduate Category

  • First Place Student award: $500 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Second Place Student award: $300 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Third Place Student award: $200 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque

Undergraduate Category

  • First Place Student award: $300 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Second Place Student award: $200 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Third Place Student award: $100 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque

High School Students Category

  • First Place Student award: $225 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Second Place Student award: $200 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque
  • Third Place Student award: $175 + Plaque Host Institution award: Plaque

Winners

  • Plaques shall be presented to the winners and their institutions during the conference
  • Winners are expected to start ISV-SBs at their institutions of learning where such do not exist
  • Three winners from each category will present their paper in person or virtually during PAC 2025
  • First-placed contestants from the undergraduate and postgraduate categories will receive travel
    grants to Cairo, Egypt
  • Papers from students placed first and second in each category will be published in the appropriate
    IEEE magazine

For further enquiries please contact:

THE ISV PROGRAM

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