In March 2026, the 2026 Student Branch Circuit Design Competition was held at IEEE SoutheastCon 2026 in Huntsville, Alabama. The competition was a four-hour on-site engineering sprint to demonstrate the ability to design, build, test, and document a working prototype. Nearly thirty student teams participated from across Region 3 using a standardized parts pool built around an Arduino Mega 2560 and other sensor kits. For the first time, AI resources were permitted for the competition (although the judges had the right to turn off AI access). The policy ensures students recognize how practicing engineers increasingly work with AI assistants while preserving the integrity of design understanding.
The winners were Tennessee Technological University (1st), University of Central Florida (2nd), and Southern Adventist University (3rd). The Tennessee Tech team is shown above with Bailey Heyman, R3 Student Activities Coordinator (left).
