{"id":4432,"date":"2021-07-16T08:50:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T12:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/?p=4432"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:17:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:17:45","slug":"2021-pads-pro-student-design-challenge-congratulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/2021-pads-pro-student-design-challenge-congratulations\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 PADS Pro Student Design Challenge: Congratulations!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Congratulations to the winners of the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> annual <a href=\"https:\/\/studentdesign-mentor.secure-platform.com\/a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PADS Professional Student Design Challenge<\/a>! The competition is the most prestigious contest in PCB electronics design for individuals and student design teams. The entrants used the <a href=\"https:\/\/trials.sw.siemens.com\/pads-professional-student-edition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PADS Professional Student Edition<\/a>, the best in-class tool for student innovators, to create an electronics design that they thought best highlighted their PCB design knowledge as well as their engineering skills. A panel of Siemens experts scored the designs, looking at design complexity, manufacturability, PCB design best practices, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Top finisher Rafa\u0142 Czerwi\u0144ski created his PCB design in association with his Master\u2019s engineering thesis. Rafa\u0142 is a graduate student in Electronics and Telecommunications at the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His PCB design experience is a result of two courses on the topic: <em>Printed Circuit Board Design<\/em> and <em>Advanced Multilayer PCB Design Techniques Certification.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"767\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal-1024x767.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal-1024x767.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal-600x449.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal-768x575.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal-900x674.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal.png 1038w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Image: Winner Rafa\u0142 Czerwi\u0144ski with his PADS Professional design<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After using documentation and free online training courses to gain familiarity with PADS Professional, Rafa\u0142 was able to create a very impressive 8-layer PCB design consisting of four DDR4 DRAM with extended data and address range topology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board-900x506.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/1st-place-board.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Image: Screenshot of the 2D layout in PADS Pro of Rafa\u0142\u2019s winning design<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking second place, Pawe\u0142 P\u00f3\u0142rolniczak from Zesp\u00f3\u0142 Szk\u00f3\u0142 \u0141\u0105czno\u015bci im. Miko\u0142aja Kopernika in Poland decided to enter the challenge because he enjoyed his PCB design in PADS Pro classes, and his teacher suggested he enter. Pawe\u0142 has a strong interest in automatization, which is why he chose to design a smart home controller. Each day, he set a goal for what he wanted to complete in PADS Pro that day, breaking up bring problems into smaller steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>[PADS] is a very advanced tool that gives a lot of possibilities, and I am looking forward to using it in my future projects.<\/p><cite>Pawe\u0142 P\u00f3\u0142rolniczak, 2021 PADS Professional Student Design Challenge Runner-up<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board-900x506.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/2nd-place-board.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Image: Screenshot of the 2D layout of Pawe\u0142\u2019s design in PADS Pro<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Rounding off the podium is Alessandro Mattioli from Universit\u00e0 di Modena e Reggio Emilia in Italy, who entered the competition with the goal of learning to design with the mind of an industry professional. He challenged himself to design a motherboard and graphics card similar to work that engineers for top international companies do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board-900x506.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/3rd-place-board.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Image: Screenshot of the 2D layout of Alessandro\u2019s design in PADS Pro<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The podium finishers won awesome tech gear. The Top 5, including Syed Ishtiyaq Ahmed (on a team of four) and Siddharth Mishra in fourth and fifth place respectively, received a \u201cPCB Design Excellence\u201d certificate signed by the Senior Vice President of the Electronic Board Systems division of&nbsp;Siemens Digital Industries Software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The competition provided an environment for entrants to apply their technological skills outside of the classroom in preparation for a future in the industry. Stay tuned for future challenges!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start using PADS Professional Student Edition and other free software downloads <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/partners\/academic\/student-software.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>, and keep up to date with student information and resources by joining the Siemens Software Student Connect LinkedIn group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/8990779\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/04\/footer-horizontal.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"845\" height=\"389\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/partners\/academic\/free-curriculum-downloads.html\" target=\"_blank\">Global Academic Partner Program Home<\/a><br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/media\/global\/en\/Siemens-PLM-Learning-Advantage-Activation-Instructions-and-FAQ-fq-73853_tcm27-42023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Student-Exclusive LinkedIn Group\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 Network with industry professionals, educators and peers<br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/partners\/academic\/free-curriculum-downloads.html\" target=\"_blank\">Curriculum Hub<\/a>\u00a0 \u2013 Free classroom downloads (great for virtual classrooms, too!)<br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cadcertification.sw.siemens.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Academic Certifications and Digital Badges<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Get certified in NX, Solid Edge, Simcenter Amesim, MBSE and more<br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/partners\/academic\/student-software.html\" target=\"_blank\">Software Downloads<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Free software for students and educators!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd annual PADS Professional Student Design Challenge! The competition is the most prestigious contest&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77604,"featured_media":4489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41,1],"tags":[188,165,486,496,186,508,505,499],"industry":[],"product":[315],"coauthors":[539],"class_list":["post-4432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-academia","tag-academic","tag-competition","tag-pads","tag-pads-professional","tag-software","tag-student","tag-students","product-pads-professional"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/07\/Rafal.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4432"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4490,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions\/4490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}