The University is moving up the ranks in an international “Great Space Race” against other schools to win students up to 25 free gigabytes of Dropbox space per student for two years.

Dropbox is an online storage space that can hold files ranging from documents to movies.

Students who join now receive 15 free gigabytes. So far, the University ranks 21st globally, fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten.

In order to gain points, University community members can sign up or start a free trial, then refer others to the program using their University email and complete a seven-step “Get Started” plan. The contest began Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 10.

Jessica Koh, freshman in DGS, participated in the contest and said the amount of free space would make storing documents and information easier.

“I think it could really benefit students in both their academic and personal lives,” Koh said. “You can share files that are too much of a hassle to share through attachments either because they are too large or because you have you have a series of many folders.”

Dropbox was founded by two college students, and one of them, CEO Drew Houston, said he understands the difficulties that students face while in school.

“We’re always looking for ways to make life easier and solve the basic problems people face every day,” Houston said a press release. “Sending files has always been a painful process, but now with Dropbox, sharing with friends, family and colleagues is effortless.”

“Dropbox traditions are rooted in schools and students,” said Jon Ying, designer at Dropbox, in an email. “Space Race is our way of showing students and professors how much we appreciate them.”

Atoosa can be reached at [email protected].