2026 Student Design Competition Details and Official Rules

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Main scope:

Undergraduate students would suggest and execute projects on electrical engineering and related areas. The focus should be on finding a solution to a real-life problem based on circuits and systems.

Team requirements:

  • The teams should consist of 3 to 10 members, all of which must be undergraduate students or high school students (until 31 December 2025)
  • Each team should have at least one mentor, which must be a faculty member(s) or graduate student(s). The mentors are not considered team members
  • At least 3 team members must be IEEE CASS members (for 2025 and 2026)

Competition phases:

The competition will be carried out in three phases:

  • Phase one is at the Chapter level
  • Phase two is at the Regional level
  • Phase three (final phase) is at the world level during ISCAS 2026

Phase one of the competition (Chapter level):

  • Phase one should be organized by the local Chapters (or the local Sections)
  • There will be one local competition per Chapter
  • CASS will provide funding ($500 USD) for each local competition
  • Chapters (or Sections) are encouraged to seek sponsorship from local industry
  • ALL phase one teams are REQUIRED to register on the webform here: https://ieee-cas.org/form/2026-student-design-competition

The composition of the local judging panel for the first phase:

  • At least three members, appointed by the local organization
  • There must be at least one member from the local industry in the judging panel
  • The non-industry members should be CASS members
  • Conflicts of interest should be avoided
  • The proposed projects should be screened by the local judging panel
  • The evaluation will be carried out with the teams making a live demonstration to the judging panel
  • Projects will be evaluated based on "Technical quality", "Creativity", "Relevance to a real-life problem in circuits and systems", and "Accessibility to and engagement with undergraduate and high school students"

 

Submit to Phase One Here

 

Phase two of the competition (Regional level):

  • Up to two projects from each chapter will compete
  • The composition of the judging panel for the second phase:
    • At least 5 members
    • Members should be preferentially from the corresponding region
    • CASS Technical Committees (TCs) should take part in the appointment of the judging panel
    • The corresponding BoG Regional Representative may also suggest members
    • The CASS VP Technical Activities and VP Regional Activities and Membership should endorse the suggestions and decide on the final composition of the judging panel
    • Each team must produce a report (using the provided template) together with a video with a detailed demonstration of the project
    • The video should last at most 10 minutes
    • The video and report should be uploaded to the CASS website here
    • Each video must be validated by the local judging panel (from the first phase of the competition) before submission
    • The evaluation will be made remotely, with the aid of the report and the demonstration video

 

Phase three (final phase) of the competition (World level during ISCAS):

  • One winner from each region will compete
  • Phase three, the final phase, will take place during ISCAS
  • CASS will provide a travel grant and ISCAS registration for a maximum of three team members, who must be IEEE CAS members, to be present at the final phase of the competition
  • Travel to ISCAS will be reimbursed, the travel grant value will be $1,200 USD for travel within your chapter’s region (R1-7, R8, R9, or R10) and $1,700 USD for travel outside of your chapter’s region
  • The team winning the final competition will be awarded a prize of $3,000 USD
  • The composition of the judging panel for the final phase:
    • At least 5 members
    • CASS Technical Committees (TCs) should take part in the appointment of the judging panel
    • CASS TCs to be involved should be defined by the CASS VP Technical Activities
    • CASS TCs should ensure the appointment of regional industry representatives to the judging panel
    • The BoG Regional Representatives may also suggest members
    • The CASS VP Technical Activities and VP Regional Activities and Membership should endorse the suggestions and decide on the final composition of the judging panel
  • The teams are allowed to submit the final version of the report using the provided template
  • The evaluation will be carried out with the teams making a live demonstration to the judging panel