Fifth Annual Avnet Tech Games Offer Scholarships and Networking Opportunities for Arizona College Students

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Students from Arizona’s colleges and universities will compete in Avnet, Inc.’s (NYSE:AVT) fifth annual Avnet Tech Games on Saturday, April 10, 2010, to apply what they are learning in school to real-work scenarios. Each winning student will receive a $1,000 scholarship, and faculty members will collect $200 for leading participating teams and an additional $300 for each winning team. Registration closes as early as February 12, 2010 for some games.

“The Avnet Tech Games creates a rare opportunity for students to showcase their skills and meet with top level industry leaders in a way that helps differentiate them from other students.”

The Avnet Tech Games feature eight multidisciplinary technology competitions that require students to test their knowledge, creativity, decision-making, problem-solving and technical skills.

The Avnet Tech Games competitive events include:

Accenture Green Data Center Challenge – Develop and present a proposal to bring an aging legacy data center forward into a model Green Data Center.
Build, Troubleshoot & Tune the Fastest Computer – Build, troubleshoot and tune a PC the fastest.
Digital Design Challenge – Create, validate and document a FPGA design that works on the provided circuit board.
Networking Within the Enterprise – Connect and configure a wired computer network to support a fictitious company’s business demands.
Patch Panel Madness – Build a working data network using the provided network diagram, cabling, patch panels, switches and racks.
Project Greenlight – Solar Powered LED Challenge – Design, build, test and present the best overall solar-powered “green energy” solid-state lamp.
Robot Race Obstacle Course – Build and program a robot to maneuver and tow objects through different courses.
Win the Pitch – Event Creation – Pitch a theme/tag line, graphical treatment, motivational video and stage design concept for the upcoming Omni Corporation International event.

“With the current economic realities, many young graduates are finding it difficult to distinguish themselves from the large pool of candidates available to employers today,” said Roy Vallee, chairman and CEO, Avnet, Inc. “The Avnet Tech Games creates a rare opportunity for students to showcase their skills and meet with top level industry leaders in a way that helps differentiate them from other students.”

The Avnet Tech Games incorporates a networking event to help students connect with prospective employers. The event allows all participants to meet and mingle with faculty members, sponsors and industry leaders. Representatives from Accenture, AMD, Avnet, Belkin, New Angle Media, Premise One, VMware and other local companies will all be present. In addition, there will be a trade show at the event where visitors can check out the latest products and make new contacts.

The Avnet Tech Games will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the University of Advancing Technology, 2625 W. Baseline Rd., Tempe, Ariz. More information is available at www.AvnetTechGames.com.

2009 Fall Virtual Avnet Tech Game Winners

Avnet has also announced winners of the first ever Avnet Tech Games virtual competition. The virtual games are an expansion of the Avnet Tech Games that allow college students nationwide to participate. The fall virtual games offered thousands of dollars in scholarship money that featured three competitions.

Winners of the fall virtual games were:

Trey Wilson and Evan Hjelmstad of the University of Advancing Technology developed a Google Android™ App for a number-based logic game for the phone using Google’s Android™ SDK and Open API to win the Android™ App Challenge. They also received a free Motorola Android™ phone from Verizon.
For the Design the Best Windows 7 Computer contest, Andrew Lewton and Jerry Lavender of Glendale Community College designed a solution that combined a PC and an Xbox 360™ into one, portable single chassis. The design earned high marks for overall performance, entertainment value, quality and uniqueness.
Wesley Peterson, Bryan Simcox and Sean Walter of the University of Advancing Technology created a 30-second TV promotional spot to win the Video Tech Spot – Part A challenge. Part B of the challenge will come this spring in marketing the spot to gain promotion for the 2010 Avnet Tech Games.

Each of the fall winners received a $1,000 scholarship toward any U.S. college or university.

New Virtual Competition Added to Spring Lineup

On January 12, Avnet Tech Games announced three virtual contests for the Spring, and now has added a fourth, the VMware Virtualization Challenge. Previously limited to only Arizona students who could partake in the on-site event, this competition is now available to all college students nationwide for the spring 2010 virtual games.

More information about the virtual games is available at www.avnettechgames.com/virtualgames.

Follow the Avnet Tech Games on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers and by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 27, 2009, Avnet generated revenue of $16.23 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.