Currys PC World Launch 'BritBot' Challenge

LONDON, October 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Currys & PC World, the UK's leading electrical retailer, has teamed up with The Student Room, the world's largest student community, to launch The BritBot Challenge - a competition which calls for teams to put their creativity and old electrical appliances to good use.

Teams must build a 'chain reaction contraption', a machine consisting of several parts which trigger each other in turn. The contraption, reusing old, faulty and forgotten electrical appliances, must ultimately send a tweet to @CurrysPCWorld containing an interesting fact about recycling.

Christopher Brown, Recycling Process and Compliance Manager for Currys PC World, said: "We offer all our customers a free recycling solution where they can either drop unwanted electrical items off at any of our stores for recycling, even if they didn't purchase the item from us, or our KNOWHOW team will happily take away any unwanted electrical products when they deliver a new one.

"Many of the electrical items that people throw away can be repaired or recycled. Recycling products helps save natural resources and also reduces the environmental and health risks associated with sending waste electrical goods to landfill. The BritBot challenge is a great way to remind people of the value of recycling their old electricals."

Participating teams must video their BritBot contraption in action, upload to YouTube and then enter the challenge via email including a team name, links to the tweet sent and the video, and any other supporting information (for example, journals, images, blog posts). The winning team will receive £1000 of vouchers to spend at Currys PC World.

Although primarily aimed at students - particularly those studying mechanical engineering or a related discipline, the competition is open to all UK residents over the age of 18. Entries will be shortlisted by judges from The Student Room following the close of the challenge on December 1^st (at 11.59pm). The final winning team will be voted for by members of the public; further details will be announced in due course.

The BritBot Challenge runs from 9^th September to 1^st December 2013. Full details can be found at http://techtalk.currys.co.uk/blog/currys-pc-world-presents-the-britbot-challenge/.

About Dixons Retail plc (owner of Currys, PC World and Knowhow)

With over 1,100 stores and online services spanning 14 countries, Dixons Retail is widely acknowledged as one of Europe's leading specialist electrical retailing groups. Dixons Retail employs over 35,500 people and provides top quality training to ensure their personnel can provide amazing customer service on products ranging from televisions to ovens, and computers to washing machines. Dixons Retail's UK and Ireland brands include Currys, PC World and Knowhow (the UK's leading provider of technology solutions, support, expertise and repairs).

Aiming to deliver an unbeatable combination of Value, Choice and Service, the company is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with millions of customers whilst delivering a truly multichannel shopping experience. For more information about Dixons Retail plc, please visit http://www.dixonsretail.com.

SOURCE Currys and PC World