STM32Cube Innovation Challenge: Design with STM32C5

Official Rules, Terms & Conditions

1. Timing

The STM32Cube Innovation Challenge: Design with STM32C5 begins on October 1, 2026 at 09:00 CET and ends on March 17, 2027 with the announcement of the winners.

Project ideas can be submitted from October 1, 2026 at 09:00 CET until November 30, 2026 at 24:00 CET.

The deadline for final project submissions through the Elektor Labs Platform is January 31, 2027 at 24:00 CET.

2. How to Enter

To enter the challenge, participants must:

• Agree to these Official Rules, Terms & Conditions.
• Complete all required fields in the online application form.
• Create a project that uses the STM32Cube ecosystem and incorporates an STM32C5 microcontroller.
• Submit the required project information and final project materials through the Elektor Labs Platform within the applicable deadlines.

3. Eligibility and Individual Participation

The challenge is open to individuals aged 18 years or older at the start of the challenge who have a valid physical address and email address.

Participants must enter solely as individuals and not on behalf of a company, organization or other legal entity.

Team entries are not permitted. Each submitted project must be entered by one individual participant, who will be considered responsible for the submission, project authorship and any prize awarded.

Employees, officers and directors of Elektor, ST, their subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors and sales representatives are not eligible to enter.

Participation is prohibited where the challenge or its prizes are prohibited or restricted by applicable law.

Selected participants or winners may be required to provide additional information to verify their eligibility, arrange shipment of a development board or administer payment of a prize.

4. Disclaimer

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Elektor and ST are not liable for:

• Claims, damages, losses or injuries arising from participation in the challenge.
• Loss, delay or damage affecting development boards or other materials shipped in connection with the challenge.
• Technical or human errors connected with the administration of the challenge.
• Failure to provide a development board or prize due to applicable laws, regulations, sanctions or export-control restrictions.

5. Challenge and Development Boards

Up to 200 participants may be selected to receive an STMicroelectronics development board, with standard shipping costs prepaid.

Only one development board will be provided per selected participant.

Participants will be selected for development boards based primarily on the project proposal submitted in the application form. The project topic is open and there is no required application field or domain, provided that the project complies with these Official Rules.

Receiving a development board does not guarantee selection as a winner.

Final challenge projects must be submitted no later than January 31, 2027 at 24:00 CET.

6. Intellectual Property and Open-Source Licensing

Participants retain ownership of the projects and original materials they create and submit as part of the challenge, subject to the licenses described in this section.

Participants must ensure that their submissions are their own original work or that they have all permissions and rights necessary to use and submit any third-party materials included in their project.

Source code submitted by a participant as part of the challenge will be published under the MIT License, unless specific third-party components are subject to their own compatible open-source licenses.

Participants are responsible for identifying third-party software, libraries, source code, documentation, images, designs, media or other materials included in their submission and for complying with the applicable licenses and usage conditions relating to those materials.

By submitting a project, participants grant Elektor and ST a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, publish, display, distribute and communicate the submitted project materials for the administration, presentation and promotion of the challenge and for future communications relating to the challenge.

This license does not transfer ownership of the participant's project to Elektor or ST.

7. Compliance and Safety

Projects and submissions must comply with applicable laws and must be developed and presented in a safe and responsible manner.

Submissions must not:

• Involve illegal, unlawful or intentionally unsafe activities.
• Contain malware, malicious software, harmful code or functionality intended to compromise systems, networks, devices or data.
• Infringe the intellectual property, privacy or other legal rights of any third party.
• Be designed or intended primarily for unlawful activities.
• Be designed or intended primarily for weapons applications or to cause injury, destruction or harm.

Elektor and ST may reject or disqualify a project that they reasonably determine does not comply with these requirements.

8. Winner Selection and Judging

Three winners will be selected from the eligible final projects submitted within the challenge period.

Eligible projects will be evaluated by a judging panel appointed by Elektor and STMicroelectronics. The judging panel may consist of engineers, executives, technical specialists and editors representing Elektor and STMicroelectronics.

The judging panel will evaluate eligible submissions based on the following criteria:

• Creativity and Innovation: originality of the concept and innovative use of the STM32Cube ecosystem and STM32C5 microcontroller.
• Technical Excellence: quality of the technical implementation, engineering approach and use of relevant technologies.
• Functionality and Practicality: how effectively the project works and its potential practical value or application.
• Aesthetics and User Experience: overall design quality, usability and presentation of the finished project.
• Documentation and Presentation: clarity, completeness and quality of the project documentation submitted through Elektor Labs.

The judging panel may take the overall quality and completeness of a project into account when making its final decision.

The decisions of the judging panel are final, except where otherwise required by applicable law.

9. Winner Notification

Winners will be contacted by email using the email address provided during registration.

Winners must respond within three business days of notification. If a winner does not respond within this period, is found to be ineligible or is unable to accept the prize, Elektor may select an alternative winner.

Winners may be required to provide information reasonably necessary to verify their identity and eligibility and to arrange payment of the prize.

10. Prizes

• 1st Prize: €2,500
• 2nd Prize: €1,500
• 3rd Prize: €1,000

The total prize value is €5,000.

11. Taxes and Charges

Any taxes, duties, fees, levies, banking charges or other costs imposed in connection with receiving a prize are the responsibility of the winner unless applicable law provides otherwise.

12. Prize Payment

Cash prizes will be paid using a payment method determined by Elektor in consultation with the winner.

Winners must provide accurate payment information and any information reasonably required for Elektor to process the payment.

Elektor is not responsible for delays or failed payments resulting from inaccurate information provided by the winner, banking restrictions, regulatory requirements or circumstances outside Elektor's reasonable control.

13. Publicity and Marketing Rights

Participants acknowledge that projects submitted to the challenge are intended to be shared publicly through Elektor Labs and related Elektor and ST communications.

Participants grant Elektor and ST a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to use and publish submitted project descriptions, project documentation, photographs, screenshots, videos, diagrams and other submitted materials for editorial, educational, publicity and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.

This may include publication on websites, newsletters, magazines, social media channels, videos, presentations, event materials and other Elektor or ST communications.

Elektor and ST may also publish the names of winners, their project titles, project descriptions and submitted project images in connection with winner announcements and future promotion of the challenge.

Nothing in this section transfers ownership of the participant's underlying project to Elektor or ST.

14. Errors, Disqualification and Disputes

Participants who provide false information, attempt to manipulate the challenge, circumvent these Official Rules or otherwise act in a fraudulent or inappropriate manner may be disqualified.

Elektor and ST reserve the right to verify the eligibility and validity of any submission.

Decisions made by Elektor, ST and the judging panel regarding eligibility, compliance and winner selection are final, subject to applicable law.

15. Technical Problems and Modification of the Challenge

Elektor may cancel, suspend or modify the challenge if fraud, technical failure, security incidents, legal requirements or another factor outside its reasonable control affects the integrity, fairness or proper administration of the challenge.

Where reasonably possible, Elektor will communicate significant changes to participants.

16. General Release

By participating in the challenge, participants acknowledge the risks associated with designing, developing, assembling and testing electronic hardware and software.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, participants release Elektor, ST, their subsidiaries and affiliates from liability arising directly from participation in the challenge or the acceptance or use of a prize, except where liability cannot legally be excluded or limited.

17. Governing Law

These Official Rules, Terms & Conditions and any dispute relating to participation in the challenge, submissions, judging or prizes will be governed by the laws of the Netherlands, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where mandatory consumer or other applicable laws provide otherwise.

18. Privacy and Participant Information

Personal information provided by participants will be processed for purposes including challenge registration, assessment of project proposals, communication with participants, administration of the challenge, shipment of development boards, verification of eligibility, administration of prizes and announcement of winners.

Where necessary for these purposes, participant information may be shared between Elektor and STMicroelectronics, including information required to process development board requests, arrange shipment, administer participation and manage the challenge.

Elektor and ST will process personal information in accordance with applicable data-protection laws and their respective privacy policies.

For information about how Elektor processes personal data, please refer to the Elektor Privacy Statement.

For information about how STMicroelectronics processes personal data, please refer to the STMicroelectronics Privacy Statement.

Participation in the challenge does not require participants to subscribe to newsletters or other marketing communications.

Any consent to receive newsletters, promotional emails or other marketing communications from Elektor or ST must be requested separately and must not be a condition of entering the challenge.

19. Questions

Questions, comments or complaints regarding the challenge can be sent to Elektor International Media B.V. at service@elektor.com.