As summer approaches, Dallas-based tech giant Texas Instruments has launched a new coding contest aimed at keeping students interested and curious about STEM through the end of the spring semester.

TI recently announced the contest called TI Codes that challenges students to develop tech solutions to everyday problems.Students ages 13 to 19 can form teams of up to five pple to compete in the event.

“This fun, hands-on contest combines coding, collaboration and some spirited competition to keep students focused on learning important STEM concepts as the school year comes to a close,” Texas Instruments math specialist Curtis Brown said in a press release.

STUDENTS WILL USE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS DEVICES

The students will use TI graphing calculators and the TI-Innovator Hub to create their programs.The Innovator, a small device that plugs into the TI graphing calculator, contains the same engineering technology used in smart phones and self-driving cars, and allows students competing in the challenge to design, create, and test innovative ideas and solutions.

The competition will consist of four rounds. In the first round, students will create a proposal where they explain an everyday problem, then pitch their solution that uses Texas Instruments technology.

The proposal for the competition’s first round can be submitted online here. All submissions must be made before the April 10 deadline.

A panel of judges will evaluate the proposals and select groups to continue to the next round. Ten semi-finalists will receive a TI graphing calculator, a TI-Innovator Hub with TI LaunchPad Board, and a $50 gift card. The gift card will cover costs of constructing the team’s design and featuring it in a video.

Based on the video, the pubic then will vote on their favorite design. Each member of the winning team will receive a graphing calculator and the TI Innovator Rover —a new vehicle controlled by TI calculators. Also, the teacher sponsoring the winning team will receive a $250 gift card.