How Pentas Works

Pentas follows a structured competition lifecycle. Here is a high-level overview of how a typical competition runs on the platform:

Step 1 — Pentas Administrators Create the Competition

Competitions on Pentas are created and configured by Pentas administrators — not by institutions. They set up the competition title, categories, registration fees, judging rubrics, and deadlines, along with the judging rounds (video, on-site, or both) and how much each round counts towards the final score. Institutions participate by supporting their students through the process, including approving submissions where required.

Step 2 — Participants Register Their Teams

Students or researchers visit the competition page and register through a guided multi-step form — project details, innovation field and category, submission links, school, and team members, finishing with declarations. If the competition charges a fee, the team completes payment (online banking, cards, e-wallets, or an organiser-arranged bank transfer or Local Order) before the registration is confirmed.

Step 3 — Teams Submit Their Projects

Each team submits its project materials through the participant portal — project title and abstract, poster, video link, and supporting evidence. Schools approve their students' entries where required, and the organiser reviews each submission before it moves forward to judging.

Step 4 — Jury Members Are Assigned

The organiser assigns jury members to evaluate specific teams. Pentas checks for conflicts of interest — for example, a jury member will not be assigned to evaluate a team from their own institution. Jury members must also complete a conflict-of-interest declaration before they can begin evaluating.

Step 5 — Evaluation Takes Place

Jury members log in and score each assigned team against that round's rubric. Video rounds are scored online from anywhere. On-site rounds take place at the venue, with each team's booth number and presentation time scheduled in advance — and jury scoring works offline at the venue, syncing automatically once reconnected.

Step 6 — Results Are Published

Once evaluation is complete, administrators finalise the weighted scores from all rounds and publish the results. Winners are determined based on the aggregated scores.

Step 7 — Certificates Are Issued

The organiser generates participation and winner certificates and releases them to eligible participants, who can download them from their dashboards. Certificates include a unique certificate number and a QR code for online verification.