Horizons Frequently Asked Questions

Who can participate in the Horizons competition? 

Undergraduate students currently enrolled at Utah State University.

How many members can be in a team? 

Teams must consist of 3-6 members.

Can we change our team composition after registration? 

Yes, final changes to team rosters can be made until February 15th. 

How often should we meet with our mentor? 

We recommend meeting with your mentor at least once a month.

Can our mentor contribute directly to our project? 

No, mentors are there to guide and advise, not to contribute directly to your work.

I have no experience conducting research projects, how can I take part in Horizons? 

Teams do not actually need to carry out the research projects, just present proposals. You can be as small scale or ambitious as you like with no limitations. You will be expected to justify your proposal and show an awareness of budget and ethical considerations. For example, if you wanted to put a group of people in a locked room in the arctic for 5 years to test the psychological stresses of space travel that’s fine as long you can justify the outcomes and the ethical considerations of performing the research.

These are big questions, I don’t know if I can come up with a solution to solve any of them?

That’s fine. Research doesn’t usually solve the whole problem. Your proposal should demonstrably contribute to progressing solutions to the challenge, but you are not expected to solve e.g. climate change in one go. 

How much time will this take?

That’s up to you and your team. We would suggest that you meet as a team around once a week or once every two weeks for 30-60 minutes. You will likely need to devote more time to this as the deadlines approach. We appreciate that you are busy, this competition is designed to be more fun than a burden. 

This would be much easier if I could work on it by myself/in a duo/just with my friends that share a major with me. 

Maybe. But by not expanding your Horizons you may miss out on insights that could make or break your entry to the competition. All the challenges have been choosen because they are ‘wicked problems’, that is problems without a clear or easily actionable solution. No one discipline has all the answers to these problems which is why we are encouraging you to step outside your comfort zone. 

How we will be judged, what exactly are the expectations for the written options appraisal and the presentation?

Assignment briefs are available on the website along with detailed briefings on the individual challenges to get you started. The grading matrixes that will be used by the judges are also freely available. 

What if I have any questions about Horizons?

If you can’t find the answers on the website please drop an email to your@usu.edu and we will get right back to you.