AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A Grade 7 to 12 team contest in which a team writes a STEM proposal and presents it orally, marked out of 100 across six criteria covering the written proposal, the data used and the oral defence.

AGHAMazing is a science, technology, engineering and maths proposal contest. Rather than building a model or sitting a test, a team puts forward a written proposal for a STEM-based solution to a problem and then explains and defends it to a panel. The name combines a Filipino word for science with the idea of amazing, and the subtitle, STEM Proposal and Presentation, describes the two halves of the round.

In the template it is a team item for Grades 7 to 12, boys and girls together, with no language restriction. No time limit or warning bell is set, and the memorandum the template follows does not print one that the platform could record, so the coordinator should confirm the length of the oral presentation and question time with the organiser before the day.

The 100 marks are split across six printed criteria. The written proposal earns 50 in three parts: content 25, organisation 10 and feasibility of the proposed solution 15. Relevance of the data used earns 15. The oral presentation earns 35 in two parts: discussion, arguments and delivery 20, and the ability to answer the questions 15. Half the marks therefore come from the paper and a third from how the team speaks and answers.

Organisers run it because it tests the habits of real science work, which are framing a problem, using evidence, judging whether a solution is practical and explaining it clearly, rather than recalling facts. It suits a festival that wants a thinking contest for older learners alongside its performance and craft items.

Where AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) is run

In the data this item belongs to one template, a Philippine government-run learner festival held at division, regional and national levels, where it is one of the maths and science contests for older learners. Written-proposal-plus-oral-defence formats are also common in science fairs, innovation challenges and research competitions in many countries, though the rules differ from event to event.

• Philippines

Key facts

• Team entry, open to boys and girls together.
• Grades 7 to 12; the template maps this to roughly ages 12 to 18, but entry is by grade level, not age.
• Marked out of 100 across six criteria: proposal content 25, organisation 10, feasibility 15, relevance of data 15, delivery 20, answering questions 15.
• No time limit or warning is set in the template; confirm presentation and question time with the organiser.
• The printed rules for topic, proposal length and format are not recorded in the platform, so the coordinator shares them with teams.
• Ideas (not rules) for a proposal: a low-cost rainwater filter for a school, a plan to cut canteen food waste using composting, or a flood-warning gauge built from local data.

On eTalenter, AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) is filed under Others and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation)

What a AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Written proposal content, 25 marks: a clear problem, a clear STEM idea and sound reasoning from one to the other; vague aims and borrowed text lose marks here.
• Written proposal organisation, 10 marks: a logical order, headings and a readable layout so the panel can follow the argument without guessing.
• Feasibility of the proposed solution, 15 marks: whether the idea could actually be built or run with realistic cost, materials and time; an exciting idea that cannot work earns little.
• Relevance of data used, 15 marks: evidence that fits the problem and is used to support the case, not figures dropped in for decoration.
• Oral presentation, discussion, arguments and delivery, 20 marks: a clear spoken case with a reasoned argument, shared sensibly between team members.
• Ability to answer the questions, 15 marks: honest, informed answers to the panel; knowing the proposal well matters more than sounding confident.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) under Scoring Setup, or start from the judge scoring and tabulation guide.

How to prepare for AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation)

How entrants and their teachers usually get AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) right on the day:

• Pick one real, local problem the team can explain in a sentence, then test whether a STEM idea could genuinely address it before writing anything.
• Write the proposal in a fixed order, problem, idea, method, data, cost and time, and have someone outside the team read it for gaps.
• Check feasibility early: list materials, cost and steps, and cut or reshape any part that cannot be done in practice.
• Collect data that answers the problem, such as measurements, surveys or published figures, and be ready to say where each number came from and what it shows.
• Rehearse the oral presentation aloud with a timer, giving every team member a part, and keep the spoken version shorter than the paper.
• Practise tough questions: have classmates and teachers challenge the data, the cost and the assumptions, and write down honest answers.
• Read the organiser rules on topic, length and format with the team and ask the coordinator about anything unclear before the day.
• After a lost round, compare the paper and the question session against the six criteria to see which part dropped marks, and rework that part.

Frequently asked questions

Is AGHAMazing (STEM Proposal and Presentation) judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

What is AGHAMazing?

It is a Grade 7 to 12 team contest in this festival template: a team writes a STEM proposal for a problem and presents it orally to a panel.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

As a team. The template sets this item for a Grade 7 to 12 team, boys and girls together.

How are the marks split?

Out of 100: written proposal content 25, organisation 10, feasibility 15, relevance of data 15, oral delivery 20 and answering questions 15.

Is there a time limit?

The template sets none, so confirm the presentation and question time with the organiser.

Does the contest involve building a model?

The recorded criteria judge a written proposal and an oral presentation, not a built model. The platform does not record any further rules, so teams should check the organiser document.

Want the full judging picture? Read the judge scoring and tabulation guide, or browse every others competition item.