How Student Competitions Can Complement Your Studies

Guest post: StudentCompetitions.com

Competitions are seldom seen to make any significant contribution to studies; they are usually viewed as something supplementary or extracurricular. However, if you make student competitions an integral part of your student life, you’ll find competitions can act as a great complement to your studies and help provide a well-rounded education.

Develop your innovation skills…

Many competitions require an innovative idea or venture, be it a business, architectural or even engineering competition. Learning to develop your innovation skills and creativity is something that traditional education perhaps cannot provide.

You probably will not win all of the student competitions you participate in. But you’ll still benefit from exposing yourself to different ideas and challenges out there in the world. You’ll get exposure to different innovations from around the world and it is also a risk-free environment whereby you can receive valuable feedback from professionals or fellow peers in that area, enabling you to further refine and build on your idea.

…and gain all kinds of other valuable life skills

By taking part in competitions, you can gain all kinds of valuable life skills. Whether honing technical skills, incubating ideas or even improving your time management, competitions can be a form of investment for the future.

Furthermore, by winning competitions, you may earn yourself passes to prestigious conferences, useful exhibitions, internship/job offers or even cash prizes, which can help fund your venture or education. This recognition can also help boost your career. Though these perks only come if you win, the act of taking part and putting in effort to win student competitions will help you gain life skills in ways that traditional education alone cannot provide.

Make a difference to society

Finally, your ideas can make a significant impact on your community or society, perhaps in ways that you never even dreamt of. Many innovations have come from students, such as the recent invisible bike helmet and many more. If your idea is good, student competitions can help exhibit, market and spread your idea, letting more people know about it. This can make a big difference in society, especially if you can receive constructive criticism to further improve.

In summary, student competitions are certainly not a waste of time. They have many pros that people do not always see, and the results may not be immediate (unless you win a big prize). When participating in competitions, the odds may be against you, but it is important to note that the purpose of taking part is not just the end result. Yes, results are important, but what matters more is the process.

Success is akin to diamonds. They will only shine after hours of polishing and refinement. Time spent participating in competitions is not wasted, but invested in your own development.

Based in Sweden, StudentCompetitions.com is the world’s largest portal of competitions for students and young professionals. Founded in 2010 by four students with a passion for competitions, it aims to help students worldwide to interact, cooperate and access valuable opportunities, such as internships, scholarships, study trips and much more.