Generally I would much prefer to stay out of this type of discussion, but I feel I must comment.

I think that the idea is quite good - though I really feel a bit more time should be spent in developing it on your part. A lot of things are still not clear, and most of them are things which should really be stated from the get go.

For me, I had been trying to figure out what I felt to be a fair contest for what I can afford to give back to the contestants. I had actually began playing around with the idea shortly after Conitec announced the summer Physics contest. In the end, you will have to come to a balance between the reward which you can give, and the ammount of work which will go into the entries. 5 levels alone are a lot of work. A strategy game (RT or turn based) is a lot of work. 5 levels in a stategy game with an intro video is a huge ammount of work.

Also, you aren't really clear what you are trying to accomplish with this. What will happen to the games when they are completed? Do you expect to keep the winning entry/entries? This is very, very important for anyone who might be thinking of entering, and it is very important that it is made clear from the start.

Finally, how will they be judged? You say a good scenario - but I could make a strategy game which uses a color coded blank map and primatives for "counters" - but uses a kick ass AI and still loose to a game which is mostly eye candy.

Like I said, I think it is a great idea - but I think more time should be spent in deciding on how you will implement it.