The 10th Annual Avnet Tech Games took place on Saturday, April 11th, and were claimed as the best iteration since the event’s initiation in 2006, according to MaryAnn Miller, senior vice president, chief human resources officer and corporate communications at Avnet, Inc.
The Avnet Tech Games began in 2006 as a means to challenge college students with technical industry puzzles while providing the chance to network and learn from some of the biggest leaders in business and industry. A high level of technical understanding is necessary to tackle an Avnet challenge. Winners of the challenges are awarded honorariums and scholarships. Since 2006, Avnet has awarded more than $330,000 to winning teams, and more than 3000 students and 250 faculty members have participated in the games.
This year, more than 200 Arizona community college and university students came to The University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona, to showcase their talents in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Students participated in various Avnet challenges, ranging from building a PC to creating a robot that maneuvers an obstacle course. The virtual games, in which students present their challenge solutions via video or submit an app solution, brought in 100 teams of students from all over the world.
Of the 70 competing teams, nine came out as winners. Thirty-one students in the virtual and onsite challenges each received honorary awards of $1000, while their faculty advisors each received $2700 for leading the teams to victory.
The students wowed the judges, a board of technology executives, engineers, and business leaders, with their ability to meet the technical objectives of the challenges, display innovative and creative thinking to solve problems, and demonstrate professional skills.
Students represented 14 Arizona community colleges and universities. These include Arizona State University, Chandler/Gilbert Community College, Estrella Community College, Glendale Community College, ITT Technical Institute, Maricopa Skill Center, Mesa Community College, Northern Arizona University, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix Community College, Scottsdale Community College, The University of Advancing Technology and the University of Arizona.
To see more photos of the winning teams and learn more about the competition, click here. Follow Avnet Tech Games on Twitter at @AvnetTechGames and on Facebook at facebook.com/AvnetTechGames.
