The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society runs an annual worldwide competition challenging high school and post-secondary students to compete for HUGE CASH PRIZES!

To enable students from ALL backgrounds to explore and fall in love with the field of electronics!

Tools  •  Lessons  •  Motivation

Courage to take the first step!

The 2026 season challenges students to design and build a clever gadget that makes daily life smoother, smarter, and more sustainable. Unlike previous years that focused on massive global issues like climate change, this year focuses on personal and household innovation.

• Project Examples:

  • Smart Pantry & Meal Assistant: Devices that track food inventory or suggest recipes.

  • Automatic Pet Feeder: Smart systems for managing household animal care.

  • Smart Waste Sorter: Gadgets that help automate recycling or waste management.

  • Household Helper Robots: Simple robotic solutions for everyday chores.

Key Rules for 2026

• Microcontrollers: Participants may use any microcontroller (Arduino Uno, ESP32, Nano, etc.) as long as it is compatible with the free Arduino IDE software.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Rule: * Post-Secondary Teams: Are permitted to include external or integrated AI in their final projects.

  • High School Teams: Must focus on hardware/sensor logic without integrated AI components.

• Submission Format: A three-minute video demonstrating the project. The video can be in any language but must include:

  • Team introduction.

  • School and country representation.

  • A live working demonstration.

  • A brief discussion of one technical challenge faced and how it was overcome.

Important Dates & Eligibility

• Submission Deadline: August 1, 2026.

• Team Size: Solo or teams of up to three students.

• Global Reach: Open to all high school and undergraduate students worldwide.

1. Join it: Take this journey solo, or bring your friends along for the ride! Register your team of up to three students.
2. Get it: Do you not yet own an Arduino? Navigate to our Kits tab to pick up a starter pack. Too expensive? Request your FREE starter kit here! (while supplies last)
3. Learn it: Navigate to our Tutorials page and become an expert Arduino-nian with our free five-minute tutorials! No experience required!
4. Think it: Create an Arduino-based project based on this season’s theme.  We choose a new theme every season!
5. Build it: Make your idea come to life. Make sure to stick to the allowed components list!
6. Show it: Submit your project by uploading a 3-minute video before the deadline. Log in and navigate to our Submission page to upload your three-minute video!
7. Win it: Win HUGE cash prizes and WORLDWIDE recognition! Navigate to our Winners page to find the list of awards and pay tribute to our past winners!