FAQs - 35th and 36th editions, 2021
Selection process
Q: Do we need to receive an invitation from the Jean Pictet Competition in order to apply for selection?
A: No, sending the application file before 8 November (or 8 October for the first phase of application) is all that is required to apply for selection. Contrary to other IHL competitions, an invitation to apply is not required.
Q: We would like to attend the Competition however we don’t speak French. Can we attend?
A: Absolutely. In that edition, all Francophone teams will compete in French and all Anglophone teams will compete in English – including the final.
Q: Do I have a better chance of selection if I apply for the French or the Anglophone edition?
A: The best chance for selection, if you can, is to apply to both sessions. This would maximize your probability to be selected.
Q: How are you going to decide whether teams attend the 35th or the 36th edition?
A: Anglophone teams can apply for one session only, which of course reduces their probability to be selected. They can apply to both and also express their preference for either session. As much as possible, we’ll take into account requests and preferences of the teams, starting with the teams that won a Regional Competition and the best application files. We’ll also balance the experienced teams and the new teams in both sessions between both groups, together with a nice balance of teams from different regions.
Q: Does a need for financial support (Universality Fund) from the Competition reduce our chance for selection?
A: Not at all. Requests for support will be examined only once the selection of teams is finalized. The persons assessing the answers to the questions and the CVs do not have access to the requests for financial support.
Holding of the Competition
Q: Can our coach attend the Competition?
A: No. In 2005, we introduced the systems of tutors, which later inspired many IHL Competitions. Therefore, all teams benefit from the support of a tutor selected and trained by the Jean Pictet Competition Committee. In order to ensure equality between all teams, no coach is allowed on the location of the Competition.
Q: I am a PhD student. Can I apply?
A: Yes, provided you are registered as a student at the time of application.
Q: Do you accept individual applications?
A: No. We only accept application of teams of three persons. You should seek team mates.
Q: I want to be a judge in the Pictet Competition. How can I achieve this?
A: See the criteria for selection of volunteers on http://www.concourspictet.org/volen.html that were used in 2020,
Q: A few months ago, my team won an IHL Regional Competition organized by the ICRC. Do we still need to send an application file to attend the 2021 Jean-Pictet?
A: Yes, the application process is relevant to your team as well. If we don’t receive your application file before the deadline, your team will not be selected. In the application, indicate what IHL Regional Competition organized by the ICRC you won.
Q: Who will win the 2021 Jean-Pictet Award? The winners of the 35th edition or the winners of the 36th?
A: Both. The two sessions will be distinct. So we would better not speak of the “2021 winners”, but of “the winners of the 35th edition” or “the winners of the 36th edition”.
Q: Aren’t you afraid that the documents used for the 35th edition leak to some participants of the 36th edition, who will then have an undue advantage?
A: No, because the facts and the legal questions will not be exactly the same in both sessions, despite the initial starting point of the scenario may be the same.
Q: Can we expect the Universality Fund to fund the entirety of the registration fees and the cost of three plane tickets?
A: Although we don’t know yet the number of selected teams that will seek support from the Universality Fund, the scenario you describe is very unlikely. We want to help teams who have demonstrated efforts to find funding by themselves, including making requests to lower the registration fees rather than requesting the Jean Pictet Competition Committee to cover all expenses.