Student Build-a-Thon

Inductive Automation is excited to announce the first-ever Ignition STUDENT Build-a-Thon. The Build-a-Thon is an event which pits integration companies against each other to test their knowledge and skill in application development with Ignition software. After various challenges, this event culminates in the two finalists battling head-to-head and demonstrating their final project onstage at the Ignition Community Conference. We couldn’t let the integrators have all the fun and now we’re excited to present a similar challenge to students who are savvy in Ignition.

The Student Build-a-Thon will be a fully remote event, taking place from Friday, April 25 to Monday, April 28, 2025. Students will have 72 hours to build a project in Ignition based on the provided scenario and specifications. The license and simulated devices will be provided by Inductive Automation at the beginning of the competition. Absolutely no hardware outside of your personal computer is necessary! Your operating system can be Windows, Linux, Mac — whatever you have handy. Ignition is completely OS-agnostic and processor-agnostic (ARM-based processors are fine). Complete system requirements can be found on IA’s Download Ignition webpage.

Students must be located in the United States.
Students must be enrolled in their respective schools for the Spring 2025 semester.
All team members must be from the same school.
Students must be 18+ to enter.
Students can be at an undergraduate or graduate level.
Teams can consist of 1 - 4 students and must include a faculty representative.
At least one team member must be credentialed in the latest version of Ignition through Inductive University prior to April 11, 2025. This is a highly coveted credential that will show off your Ignition knowledge to future employers!
For a complete list of skills needed to complete the challenge, please review the necessary skills here.

Competitors will have 72 hours starting April 25th, 2025 at 5:00PM PST to plan and build their projects based on the requirements outlined at the outset of the competition.
Inductive Automation will provide the competition scenario, the judging rubric, and the submission report template as soon as the event starts.
The Ignition projects created during the 72 hours must be created “from scratch” - using the designer with fresh installs of Ignition.
Competitors are NOT allowed to get help from outside sources during the build process. Ignition Exchange resources are prohibited. The one exception: There will be a Student Build-a-Thon category in the IA forum for the community to chime in and answer student questions.
Your Ignition projects must not require playing audio files or streams.
At the end of your build time, your projects will need to be exported in a Gateway Backup. This project export, along with a submission report, will need to be turned in by April 28th, at 5:00PM PST to be considered for the competition.

The winning team will earn tickets* to the 2025 Ignition Community Conference, set for September 16-18, 2025 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention & Performing Arts District in downtown Sacramento, California. In addition, the winning project will be featured at the conference, earning them the attention of hundreds of Ignition enthusiasts and potential employers. If the winning team cannot travel to ICC for whatever reason, an alternate prize will be awarded.

The first 20 teams who enter the competition and successfully complete the submission requirements will receive a specially curated swag pack from Inductive Automation.

Calling All Students!

Event Details

Eligibility Requirements

Rules

Prize Details

Terms & Conditions