Digi-Key Electronics Announces 2021 Back-to-School Sweepstakes

Digi-Key Electronics announces 2021 back-to-school sweepstakes to encourage student innovation and learning

Digi-Key Electronics, the global distributor of the broadest and fastest-shipping in-stock electronic components, today announced it will host its highly anticipated annual back-to-school sweepstakes, giving college students a chance to win prizes while helping them explore the amazing world of engineering with real-world tools and resources.

The 2021 Digi-Key Back-to-School Sweepstakes will take place from August 25 to November 11, 2021, and the winners will be announced shortly after the November 11 submission deadline.

As part of the back-to-school sweepstakes, students are invited to design and submit sketch concepts that improve student life using electronic components and products from the Digi-Key website. With some college campuses reopening this fall, students can conceive of products or projects that can help resume in-person classes. Students can also develop and realize their designs and provide videos or photos of their designs to qualify for the grand prize category.

The first prize winner will receive an InstaLab kit, which the winner can use to build a concept prototype. InstaLab is a turnkey kit for setting up a private lab, including all the key hardware. The kit includes an oscilloscope, function generator, benchtop 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 the next tier winners will receive a back-to-school kit that includes a smoke extractor, an Adafruit Parts Pal, a Seeed Grove Arduino kit, a Sparkfun Deluxe tool kit, a benchtop power supply, and an Analog Discovery 2.

Additionally, all participants will be eligible to win a PyGamer, an entry-level handheld device for DIY gaming, simply by entering their name and contact information. The contents of the prize package may vary depending on the applicant's region, but the prizes will be of equivalent value.

“We are excited to announce the return of our back-to-school sweepstakes, which inspires students to build products that solve real-world problems through hardware engineering and automation equipment,” said YC Wang, director of global academic programs at Digi-Key. “Providing them with the components they need is a great way to advance their skills and foster their long-term interest in engineering.”

"At Digi-Key, we aspire to empower the next generation of innovators," said David Sandys, director of technical marketing at Digi-Key. "We are proud to promote and host educational competitions, like this one, that will inspire the creative minds of tomorrow's engineers."

The sweepstakes is open to any student with a college or university email address. Click here to visit Digi-Key's website for back-to-school details or to enter the sweepstakes. Submissions will be accepted from August 25 to November 11, 2021, and winners will be announced shortly after the November 11 submission deadline.

About Digi-Key Electronics

Digi-Key Electronics is a global electronic components authorized distributor with full service, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA, selling more than 9.8 million products from more than 1,900 quality brand manufacturers. Digi-Key also provides a variety of online resources, such as EDA and design tools, datasheets, reference designs, teaching articles and videos, multimedia libraries and other resources. 24/7 technical support is provided via email, phone and online customer service.