• Provide IEEE Student Members with a new and interesting activity
  
  
• Give IEEE Student Members a challenge to embrace team work - an important skill to develop for career success
  
  
• Increase the number of IEEE Student activities with a focus on the computer, programming and information technology fields 

The first competition, in 2006 attracted 47 teams with 150 participants. The next time it was held, in 2008, the numbers more than tripled and last year saw over 1,700 teams take part and involved more than 5,000 student competitors from countries around the world.

The winners and prizes for last year's competition were:

• Grand-prize winner -  viRUs from Reykjavik University of Iceland. Each team member received an expenses-paid trip to an IEEE conference of their choice, anywhere around the world.
  
  

• Second-place winner - WhySoConcrete from New York University, USA. Each team member received an iPad, courtesy of the IEEE Computer Society.

• The third-place winner was oops from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Each team member received an iPad mini, courtesy of the IEEE Computer Society.

Winning IEEEXtreme is clearly a good prelude to a career. A 2014 article in the The Institute member newspaper reveals how members of winning teams have founded start ups and secured jobs with tech companies such as Amazon.  There is obviously strong competition within and between the universities that participate in the countries where it is popular - not just the United States but also India, Sri Lanka and Tunisia to name just three.