How to build a tradition?
I was struck by reading our article about the Zenit in Electronics competition, an annual event in the Slovak Republic, which is akin to a decathlon for electronic engineers and/or hackers. It is a competition, in which the students presumably compete first at the local level and then up to 32 at the national level. There is a straightforward knowledge test, a complex problem to solve, and then a hands-on component where students have to make a working device themselves, complete with a diagram and possibly some help. Reading the past articles, you get the sense that this is both a showcase for the best of the best, but also an encouragement for those new to the art. It's complete hardware hacking, and it sounds like a combination of hard work and lots of fun.
What is most amazing is that it is in its 38th year. Think how much electronics, not to mention geopolitics, has changed over the past 40 years. But yet, the Zenit competition still lives on. Since it is mostly run by volunteers, with strong help from the Slovak electronics industry, it must be a labor of love. What amazes me is that this love has been kept alive for so long.
I think part of the secret is that although it is a national competition, it is possible to organize it with a small but dedicated team. It is certainly a commendable effort - I can only imagine how many lives of young students have been touched by exposure to microelectronics hacking through the contest. Indeed, it is telling that the current president of the competition, Daniel Valúch, was himself a competitor in 1994.
I wonder if the people who founded Zenit in 1984 thought of themselves as creating a perpetual electronic engineering contest, or if they just wanted to try it out and it took on a life of its own? Could you start something like this today?
I was struck by reading our article about the Zenit in Electronics competition, an annual event in the Slovak Republic, which is akin to a decathlon for electronic engineers and/or hackers. It is a competition, in which the students presumably compete first at the local level and then up to 32 at the national level. There is a straightforward knowledge test, a complex problem to solve, and then a hands-on component where students have to make a working device themselves, complete with a diagram and possibly some help. Reading the past articles, you get the sense that this is both a showcase for the best of the best, but also an encouragement for those new to the art. It's complete hardware hacking, and it sounds like a combination of hard work and lots of fun.
What is most amazing is that it is in its 38th year. Think how much electronics, not to mention geopolitics, has changed over the past 40 years. But yet, the Zenit competition still lives on. Since it is mostly run by volunteers, with strong help from the Slovak electronics industry, it must be a labor of love. What amazes me is that this love has been kept alive for so long.
I think part of the secret is that although it is a national competition, it is possible to organize it with a small but dedicated team. It is certainly a commendable effort - I can only imagine how many lives of young students have been touched by exposure to microelectronics hacking through the contest. Indeed, it is telling that the current president of the competition, Daniel Valúch, was himself a competitor in 1994.
I wonder if the people who founded Zenit in 1984 thought of themselves as creating a perpetual electronic engineering contest, or if they just wanted to try it out and it took on a life of its own? Could you start something like this today?
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