From essays to exams, finals week is undoubtedly the most stressful time of the semester. In order to keep file loss from adding to the tension, Dropbox is promoting its cloud storage by holding a competition between universities around the world.
In the competition, students can earn an extra 25 gigabytes (GB) of cloud storage on top of the initial free 5 GB available to users in Dropbox’s database.
More than 12,000 schools around the world are participating in the point-based competition called Campus Cup. Schools amass points through the efforts of individual students. Installing Dropbox, creating files, sharing files and inviting friends are some of the ways students can earn points.
The competition began Sept. 17 and runs through Dec. 14. Sitting at just over 6,800 points, the U isn’t ranked among the top 200 institutions. The top school, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has more than 400,000 points.
Although the cup seems out of reach, students at the U can still earn additional GB of cloud storage. So far, participants have earned the U an extra three GB of memory. If the U reaches 9,571 points, it will earn a total of eight GB. The earned space lasts two years.
Cloud storage is a data service model in which data is stored, managed and maintained in a secure, backed-up database that spans across multiple physical servers. The data is available to users through a network, typically the Internet. For students at the U, accessibility is one of the main advantages of cloud storage.
“I can view my files from a bunch of different devices,” said Keith Sullivan, a senior in entertainment arts and engineering. “I can work on projects on my computer at home and the computers at school.”
Tori Halloran, a senior in communication, uses cloud storage because it enables her to open files on any computer with Internet access.
“It’s great because I don’t have to worry about losing my papers,” she said.
Dropbox isn’t the only cloud storage option available for students at the U. The U has its own service called Ubox, which provides students with 50 GB of storage during their time at the U. The service boasts an encrypted system which, according to its website, makes it more secure than Dropbox.
Students can contribute to the U’s Campus Cup points by joining Dropbox at www.dropbox.com/campuscup/leaderboard.
@emilyinorgandy