NPR has launched the first-ever NPR Student Podcast Challenge. They are inviting students around the country to create a podcast, then – with the help of a teacher – compete for a chance to win the grand prize and have their work appear on NPR.

The contest is a chance for teachers and students in grades five through twelve across the country to turn your classrooms into production studios, your assignments into scripts, and your ideas into sound.

Here’s how it works: A student – with the help of a teacher – produces a podcast that is three to 12 minutes long. NPR says: “Have something to say? Now is your chance.”

Students do not need a lot of fancy equipment or a studio in order to enter the NPR Student Podcast Challenge. NPR states that students should be able to do this with just a smartphone and a computer, with easily available software.

Students also do not have to be an expert in radio production. NPR is offering lots of help for students and teachers. It’s a good idea to read through it before you begin creating a podcast. One important thing to know is that your podcast cannot include music.

NPR will open up the contest to entries on January 1, 2019, and close them on March 31, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Then, NPR’s panel of judges will pick two winners: one from grades five through eight, and one from grades nine through 12.

The winning podcasts will be featured in segments on NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered later in the spring of 2019.