a)the two highest-ranked teams in the second practical assignment, related to technologies for speech signal classification (e.g., speaker recognition);

b)the two highest-ranked teams in the third practical assignment, related to the development of dialogue systems with speech recognition and speech synthesis.

2. 2.The purpose of the selection process is to ensure the participation of four distinct teams in the pitch session.

3. 3. In the event of a tie between teams within the same practical assignment for the purposes of selection or replacement, or where the same team qualifies through more than one practical assignment and an additional team must be selected to ensure the participation of four distinct teams, the following tie-breaking and replacement criteria shall apply sequentially:

a) higher grade in the relevant practical assignment;

b) higher average grade across all practical assignments in the course;

c)a reasoned decision by the jury, following consultation with the Course Unit coordination, in order to consider other internal assessment components or relevant tie-breaking criteria, should the tie persist.

4. 4.The four selected teams shall be contacted by the Course Unit coordination or by members of the jury and informed of their eligibility for the final stage, as well as of the requirement to deliver a pitch presentation, potentially supported by digital media, during the award ceremony or public award session.

5. 5. Each team’s pitch presentation shall have a maximum duration of 10 minutes.

6. 6. The pitch shall be evaluated by the jury according to three dimensions, each carrying equal weight unless otherwise decided by the jury and communicated in advance to the selected teams:

a) presentation of the technological solution used by the team to achieve the results in the practical assignment through which it was selected;

b) presentation of how one of the speech processing technologies taught in the Course Unit could be applied within the context of Fidelidade;

c) structure, clarity, communication skills, and overall quality of the pitch.

7. 7. Each dimension shall be graded by the jury on a scale from 0 to 20 points. The final pitch grade shall correspond to the weighted average of the three dimensions referred to in the previous paragraph.

8. 8. The winning team shall be the team obtaining the highest final grade in the pitch phase. In the event of a tie in the final pitch grade, precedence shall be given sequentially to:

a) the highest score in the dimension concerning the application of speech processing technologies within the context of Fidelidade;

b) the highest score in the dimension concerning the presentation of the technological solution;

c) the highest grade in the practical assignment through which the team was selected;

d) the highest average grade across all practical assignments in the course;

e) a reasoned decision by the jury.

9. 9. The candidates shall be assessed by the jury, which shall deliberate on the awarding of the prize in accordance with the criteria set forth in the present regulations.

10. 10. The decisions of the jury shall not be subject to appeal.