The ELECTRI International Challenge for NECA Student Chapters is the Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge (ECIC). This marks a yearly highlight for NECA Student Chapters. Teams agree that the popular challenge is stimulating because it makes them focus on problem solving by thinking in new, creative ways.
This year’s student challenge focuses on design build.
2026 Challenge Overview
Each faculty advisor and student team will work with their local NECA chapter and contractors to deliver a proposal containing information they learned about the electrical contractor’s role. Students are to put themselves in the position of an electrical contractor and are to perform various tasks related to the design of electrical systems in the project provided to them.
For 2026, student teams will integrate the best lessons from the past four ECIC competitions into a full project life-cycle challenge:
➢ bidding and estimating (2022)
➢ project management execution (2023,
➢ BIM coordination (2024)
➢ design-build innovation (2025)
You will find the past 5 years of ECIC trainings recordings here: https://www.electri.org/electri-student-challenge-training-videos/
Registration will open January 1, 2026
If you have questions or need assistance, reach out to Laura Holmes at Laura.Holmes@electri.org
2026 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
- August 29, 2025 Rules/Regulations distributed to NECA Student Chapter Advisors
- January 1, 2026 Registration opens / Project materials distributed
- February 5, 2026 On-demand training modules released
- February 12, 2026 Registration closes (11:59 PM local time)
- February 19, 2026 Virtual Kick-Off Project Meeting
- May 6, 2026 Final proposal submission deadline (PDF)
- June-July 2026 Proposal review by ECIC jury
- July 31, 2026 Finalists announced
- October 4, 2026 Oral presentations & awards at the NECA Convention in Las Vegas
Reach Out to Us
ECIC ELECTRI Contact
Laura Holmes
Phone 202-991-6257
Laura.Holmes@electri.org
ECIC Program Manager
Joe Seacat
jseacat@ermco.com