Digi-Key Electronics, which offers the world's largest selection of electronic components in stock for immediate shipment, will hold their highly anticipated annual Back2School Prize Draw sweepstakes, which gives college students an opportunity to win prizes while using real-world tools and resources to learn about the field of engineering.
As part of the Back2School Prize Draw, students are invited to design and submit sketch concepts that improve on the student life, using electronic components and other products found on Digi-Key's website. With some college campuses reopening this fall, students can envision products or projects intended to help smooth out the return to in-person education. Students can also develop and implement a design and provide a video or photo of the design to qualify for the grand prize category.
One grand prize winner will receive an InstaLab kit they can use to build prototypes of their concepts. The InstaLab is the turn-key kit for setting up a private lab, with all the key pieces of hardware included. The kit includes an oscilloscope, function generator, bench power supply, digital multimeter, 120 V soldering station, lead-free Solder, wire strippers and more.
The runner-up prize is a Lulzbot 3D printer and next tier winners will receive a Back to School kit that includes a Fume Extractor, an Adafruit Parts Pal, Seeed Grove Arduino Kit, a Sparkfun Deluxe tool kit, a Benchtop Power Supply, and an Analog Discovery 2.
Additionally, all participants can enter their name and contact information to be eligible to win a PyGamer, an entry-level handheld for DIY gaming. The content of the prize kits may vary depending on the applicant's region, but the prize will be of equivalent value.
"We're thrilled to announce the return of our Back2School Prize Draw, which inspires students to build products that solve real-world problems through hardware engineering and automation," said YC Wang, global academic program director at Digi-Key. "Giving them the components they need offers an excellent way to advance their skills and promote their long-term interest in engineering."
"At Digi-Key, we're eager to empower the next generation of innovators," said David Sandys, director of technical marketing at Digi-Key. "We're proud to promote and host educational competitions such as this one that spark ideas for future engineers."
The sweepstakes is open to any student with a university or college email address. To learn more or enter the Back2School Prize Draw, visit Digi-Key's website here. Submissions are open from August 25th through November 11th, 2021, and winners will be announced shortly after the November 11th deadline.