IEEE Region 5 (R5) Student Competitions will be held concurrently with the IEEE Region 5 Conference. This year’s event will hold 8 different competitions in which students from R5 colleges can participate. See detailed descriptions of the individual competitions to learn more about their rules and participation information.

Competitions

On this page

2026 Competitions Winners

3 Minute Thesis

1st Place: Nirasha Batadura Arachchi — Wichita State University
2nd Place: Iretomiwa Idowu — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
3rd Place: Muhammed Ibrar — Texas A&M University

Circuit Design

1st Place (tied): CU Boulder (Team Paul) — CU Boulder
1st Place (tied): MSU Circuit Design Team (Aiden Seiler, Jordan Neal) — Missouri State University
2nd Place: Oklahoma University — Oklahoma University
3rd Place: Orediggers (Fu-Yao Yen, Payton Murphy-Blanchard) — Colorado School of Mines

Cyber Challenge

1st Place: Billikens (Laurel Leuwerke, Sebastian Flores, Jackson Parrack) — Saint Louis University
2nd Place: Islanders (Shelby Carroll, David Gray) — Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
3rd Place: Sooner Cybersec (Nathan Schultz, Heba Assi) — University of Oklahoma

Ethics

1st Place: Shockers (Anthony Lam, Viet Nguyen) — Wichita State University
2nd Place: Eagle Standard (Caleb Friesen, Davonta Dunn) — University of North Texas
3rd Place: Islanders (Lindsey LeMaire, David Leal) — Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Networking

1st Place: Grace Pridgeon — South Dakota Mines
2nd Place: Cole Hellman — Indiana State University
3rd Place: Noah Haskins — University of Kansas

Presentation

1st Place: Ethan Hughes — Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
2nd Place (tied): Santosh Patapati — Collin College
2nd Place (tied): Christina Tyulyayev — Saint Louis University
3rd Place: Clara Tran — University of Oklahoma

Robotics

1st Place: Lumberjacks (Dustin Judson, Kevin Claypool, Dalton Cardwell, Aaron Boehm, Ashley Brewster) — Stephen F. Austin
2nd Place: Texas State RAS (Nathan Charles, Ian Lingo, Aiden Salinas) — Texas State University
3rd Place: M.A.R.V. 2.0 (Parker Schroader, Rebecca Andrus, John Bannister, Joshua Lee, Jan Zaretski) — Texas State University

Website

1st Place: University of North Texas
2nd Place: Koriel Lopez - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
3rd Place: Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi
IEEE Region 5 Student Conference 2026 Agenda

IEEE Region 5 Student Conference 2026

Friday March 27

Student Competitions

Networking Competition

Friday 8 AM - Saturday 12 PM | Everywhere

This competition is fully self driven by students and does not interfere with any other activities. Whenever a student sees a professional, then the student can ask to do a quick elevator pitch with them. All networking materials must be submitted by 12 PM on Saturday. You do not need to register for this competition! Once you start sending in judge rubrics, we will start tracking your points.

Student Activities

Welcome Reception

Time: 5 PM - 7 PM | Flatirons 3/4

The welcome Reception is for all attendees and will have a small amount of food for socializing. Attendees are encouraged to go out for dinner after the reception. There will be alcohol available to purchase.

Robotics Captains Meeting

Time: 8 PM - 9 PM | Flatirons 1

This is optional for all robotics captains to attend.

Saturday March 28

Student Competitions

3 Minute Thesis

Time: 8 am - 2:30 pm | Meadows B

Students get assigned a session time slot between 8 am - 4 pm. Students must present during their time slot.
Competition Schedule (March 28):

·         10:00 – 11:00 am: Preliminary Round 1

·         11:00 – 12:00 pm: Preliminary Round 2

·         1:30 – 2:30 pm: Semifinals

·         6:30 – 9:30 pm: Banquet and Finals

Circuit Design

·         8:00 AM – Competition launch

·         11:00 AM – Project Submission deadline

·         11:15 AM – Judging begins

·         11:45 AM – Circuit Design Competition concludes; participants walk to the hotel for lunch

Cyber Challenge

Time: 10 AM – 12 PM | Meadows D

·         The Challenge will be limited to two hours, with questions ranging from common knowledge to problems defining teams as emerging experts in cybersecurity. 

·         This is a hands-on, interactive competition.

Ethics Competition

Time: 9 AM Start | Preparation: Royal Arch, Presentations: Bear Peak

·         9:00 AM - Orientation

·         9:15 to 11:15 AM - Preparation (no outside resources allowed)

·         Lunch – after Team Preparation Period

·         12:00 PM to 3:00 PM - Presentations

Networking Competition

Time: 8 AM - 12 PM | Everywhere

See Details above

Presentation Competition

Time: 9 AM Start | Meadows A

Details... TBA

Robotics Competition

Time: 8 AM start | Flatirons 1

The robotics competition will start shortly after 8 AM and ending around 3 PM. All teams must be in attendance and ready to compete by 8 am.

Student Activities

Reception

Time: 5:30 - 6:30 PM | Flatirons Foyer

Banquet

Time: 6-9 PM | Flatirons 1

Student competition winners will be announced at the banquet. Attire is business formal.

Sunday March 29

Student Activities

Activity....

Time: .... | ROOM

Details... TBA

2026 Teams

2025 Winners

2025 Participating Colleges