Registration Site: New Site Coming Soon
Registration Fees help cover about 50% of the cost of your team's food at the contest. WERC recoups remaining costs through sponsorships. See Fund-raising tips below. Be sure to thank your Task Sponsor!
WERC: Registration Info
Contact
Registration opens November 1, 2025 for the April 2026 Contest.
| Registration | 2026 Registration Dates | First Team (1 Advisor + ≤ 5 students) |
Discount per Additional Team | Fee per Additional Team Member or Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | Nov 1-Dec 31 | $980 | $100 | $170 |
| Regular | Jan 1-31 | $1080 | $100 | $170 |
| Late | Feb 1-15 | $1200 | $100 | $170 |
| IEEE Member | $50 |
Example 1: One advisor plus two teams of up to 5 students each, registering prior to 12/31/25 will pay: $980 + $880 = $1860 for registration.
Example 2: One advisor plus a Co-Advisor plus three teams (two teams with 5 students and one with 6 students) registering in January will pay: $1080 + $980 + $980 + $170 (for the Co-Advisor) + $170 (for the extra student on team 3) = $3,380 for registration.
IEEE Discount: Each team with at least one member of IEEE will receive a $50 registration discount. Students can sign up to be an IEEE member for $32/yr.
Our sponsors help reduce registration fees. Thank you, Diamond Sponsors!
Fund-Raising Tips:
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Companies that recruit your students at career fairs. Particularly those that have hired your students for internships or co-ops.
- Professional societies: Chapters of groups like ASME, AICHE, SWE, or IEEE often sponsor student teams, especially if members are active in the chapter.
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Alumni networks: Contact your department’s alumni office; many alumni enjoy supporting student design teams.
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Department or college discretionary funds: Sometimes departments set aside small amounts for student competition teams.
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Crowdfunding: Platforms like GoFundMe or your university’s official crowdfunding site can draw support from family, friends, and your community.
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Community presentations: Offering to give a short talk at a civic group (e.g., Rotary, Kiwanis, environmental clubs) is a great way to raise small sponsorships.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
—Margaret Mead
Team Composition:
A team must be at least 50% undergraduates. We allow graduate students who are in the early stages of their studies to join a team.
Regular Registration: $1080 (1 Faculty Advisor + up to 5 students)
Each additional student on a team: $170
Early Registration discount: $100 thru 12/31/2025
Extra team discount: $100 off per team of up to 5 students registered under the same advisor
Late Registration Fee: add $200/team
Faculty Advisors:
1) Sign up for an account and complete your profile
2) Add student team members and email addresses to the account
3) Ask students to complete their profiles.
4) Pay online. Payment cannot be accessed until all team profiles are complete.
Students:
1) Receive emailed passwords after the Advisor adds you to the account.
2) Log into the WERC Contest Site
3) Complete your profile.
Registration Cap:
Due to limited space, WERC will be accepting up to 30 teams on a first-come first-served basis.
Registration Dates:
Early: 11/01/25 - 12/31/25
Regular: 1/01/26 - 1/30/26
Late: 2/01/26 - 2/15/26
Registration fees will not be refunded, except for unavoidable circumstances. In that case, the team will be charged their part of expenses incurred at the point they exit the contest.
For example, if WERC has already ordered synthetic solution for your task, the cost of materials will be subtracted from the fees you paid.
If WERC must transition to a remote contest, we will re-calculate cost of participation and will refund a portion of each team’s fees, if warranted.