Students test computer skills at Avnet Tech games
Kevin Bonneville
On April 5, the third annual Avnet Inc. Tech Games were held at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe.According to its website, the Avnet Tech Games are an “annual multidisciplinary technology competition open to all colleges, institutions, and universities in Arizona.”
More than 150 students from ASU, and several other educational institutions, including MCC, took part in the this year’s event.
Teams of students from schools throughout the state competed to win prizes and $1,000 in scholarship money in nine events: AMD Build the Faster Computer, Accenture Tech Challenge, Belkin Patch Panel Madness, Defense in Depth, Design and Build a Digital Device, Invent a Technical Product, Multimedia Fast Break, Robot Race Obstacle Course, and Microsoft Build a Business Website.
According to Michelle Gorel, the Vice President of Public Relations for Avnet Inc., MCC had 11 teams that competed in seven different events.
However, some of the teams were either repeats with competing in more than one event or some of the students were on more than one team.
Despite all of that, the MCC squads had a solid showing at the games overall.
The team of Bridget Gillespie, Clint Holmquist, and Paula Roberson with Scott Shaw as their faculty coach took home first place for MCC in the Accenture Tech Challenge.
Students selected a current business problem, where they brainstormed ideas and eventually presented a proposal to solve the problem by creating a innovative technology integration solution to show the judges.
Faculty member Bob Samson’s team took third place for MCC in the Belkin Patch Panel Madness. The team put together a working data network using a provided network diagram, cabling, patch panels, and switches and racks.
The games also offered a trade show and a networking hour. The trade show gave students of the competition the chance to give their resumes to employers for potential internships and job opportunities and it also showed some of the new advances in technology products.
The networking hour provided everyone that attended the event to meet with the student participants, faculty members from the schools, and even sponsors for the games.
Some of those sponsors for the event included: Accenture, AMD, Belkin, Maxon, Microsoft, and New Angle Media.
