What is the maximum and minimum number of students allowed in a team?

The maximum number is fifteen, the minimum number is five.

What is the multidisciplinary requirement for a team?

We recommend that all participating teams be multidisciplinary with students from multiple disciplines such as architecture, building science, engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical), management, social sciences, marketing, communications, finance, product design, business, and others. Past participants have said that including students from different disciplines make up a more effective team.

We are not sure of all our team members yet. Can we still register?

Yes, to register for the competition you only need a student team leader and a faculty mentor. All other team members can be added or changed later.

Can one educational institution have multiple teams?

Yes. However, each team needs to be multidisciplinary, with at least one student with a background in architecture/building science and one in engineering.

Can one educational institution team up with other educational institutions to form a team?

Yes. Students from more than one Indian educational institution can collaborate to form a team. However, one of those must be nominated as a Lead Institution, who will be the only point of contact with the Solar Decathlon India Secretariat. If students from multiple institutions collaborate to form a team, it may be helpful to have one faculty member from each of the partner institutions involved as faculty advisors.

Can non-architecture or civil engineering educational institutions participate?

Yes. A team may be composed of undergraduate or postgraduate students enrolled in any discipline from any Indian educational institution. Each team needs to be multidisciplinary, with at least one student with a background in architecture/building science and one in engineering.

What is the registration fee for Solar Decathlon India?

The registration fee for the Solar Decathlon India 2024-25 Challenge is the non-refundable amount of INR 7,500 (Indian Rupees Seven Thousand and Five Hundred only) per team.

I cannot find the city where my institution is located in the dropdown list in the registration portal. What should I do?

Select the closest city from the dropdown list. In the street address field, you can mention the actual city name.

Is it mandatory to have a developer/client as a partner?

Each team must have a Project Partner, who can be a building owner, developer, or a real estate proponent of any type, including a government agency, NGO, or a private entity who is considering a building project. The team works on the building project provided to the team by the Project Partner.

We have found an architecture/ engineering/ consulting firm who is willing to give us their project. Can they be our Project Partner? 

The Project Partner must be a real estate proponent that intends to invest in the building. Architecture/ engineering/ consulting firms can be Project Partners only if they are building the project as owners or investors.

What if we are not able to find a developer/ client to partner with?

If you are not able to find a developer/ client as a Project Partner, the Solar Decathlon India organisers will assign you a Project and a Project Partner. However, if you find your own Project Partner, you are likely to have a better relationship with the partner and you are likely to have access to better information about the project.

Does the Project Partner (developer/client) have to commit to building or funding the proposal?

A Project Partner is not required to commit to building the design or provide any funding to the team. See the Project Partners section on the website for more details about the Project Partner’s commitments.

How do I submit the Project/Industry Partner letter?

For D1, D2, and D3 add the Project/Industry Partner Letter to the Appendix of your report, as mentioned in the Competition Guide. For D4, upload the Project/Industry Partner Letter on the Learning Management System (LMS) along with your other submissions. Please refer to the Competition Guide for more details.

Are the 10 contests evaluated with equal weightage?

Yes. Each contest is given equal weightage in the scoring.

How do I add a Team Member or Faculty Advisor?

To add a Team Members or Faculty Advisor, please follow these steps: Go to the Registration Page and click on ‘Register’. Select the appropriate role from the dropdown menu i.e. ‘Team Member’ or ‘Faculty Advisor’. Fill out the required information and click on ‘Submit’. Please note that if you are currently logged in to the Learning Management System (LMS), you will need to log out first before proceeding with the registration process. Once logged out, click on the ‘Register’ button instead of the ‘Login’ button.

Can I remove a member from my Team? If yes, how do I delete the team member from the team on the Learning Management System (LMS)?

Yes, you can add or remove a team member until 5 PM,10 January 2025. To delete any Team Member, please write to uday@solardecathlonindia.in

How do I access resources like the Self-Learning Modules (SLMs), software, survival kit, etc.?

You will find the SLMs on the Learning Management System (LMS) under ‘SLMs’ on your dashboard. You can access other resources like the survival kit, software details, etc., from the ‘Resources’ section on your dashboard.

How do I log into the Learning Management System (LMS)?

Please use the link along with the user id and password sent to you when you register on the platform. If you are unable to login using those credentials, try resetting your password by clicking on ‘Forgot Password’. If you are still unable to login, please write to uday@solardecathlonindia.in

I registered myself on the Learning Management System (LMS) but I have not received my log in credentials. What do I do?

Please check your spam folder. If you do not find your credentials there, please write to uday@solardecathlonindia.in

How is the winning proposal judged?

In Solar Decathlon India, teams are scored on all 10 contests by a jury of experts. They are scored on their work which includes the submitted documentation and the presentation to the jury.

Who is the jury?

The student entries will be judged by a jury panel of experts with profound experience in implementing net-zero building for design, construction, and real estate. The names of the jury members will be published during the 2nd stage of the competition. Check out our jury from the past challenges.

Will there be an exhibition or publication of all proposals at the end?

All finalist entries will be displayed on our website. Check out the entries from the finals in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. If government restrictions due to the pandemic are not an issue, there will be an exhibition of all finalist entries during the SDI Finals in May, and the work of selected teams will be exhibited.

Can we update our report after the final submission for uploading on the SDI website?

No. Once the deadline has passed, all submissions are considered final and the same shall be uploaded on the SDI website.

How long after the finals do the winners receive the prize money and certificates?

Winners will be able to download their certificates from the Learning Management System (LMS) 2 weeks after the finals. They will receive the prize money in the account provided 30-45 days after the finals.