Computer engineering students Dannick Pomerleau (seated) and Derek Shultz take on the Communications Breakdown challenge while mechanical engineering student Jiawei Chen keeps time.
Edmonton-Communication is a key aspect of engineering. Whether working as a team on designs or making presentations in the workplace or to members of the public, engineers need to communicate clearly, confidently and effectively.
A challenge staged as part of the Engineering Students' Society's celebrations for National Engineering and Geosciences Month put those communication skills to the test.
Called 'Communication Breakdown' the challenge puts students in teams of two, with one student directing the other to build a specific shape out of Lego pieces. Each partner get an identical assortment of Lego pieces. One partner holds an assortment of pieces that has been snapped together into an object-the other partner holds unassembled pieces. Standing back to back, one partner instructs the other on how to assemble the pieces to form a perfectly matched shape.
It can be a difficult feat. When second-year computer engineering students Derek Shultz and Dannick Pomerleau took a shot, they found it challenging but not impossible. They each took turns as director and builder, accurately completing the task twice.
Mechanical engineering student Jiawei Chen was volunteering at the booth, timing students who took part in the challenge. Chen says that she was surprised to discover how vital communication skills are in engineering.
"I honestly thought engineering would be more based on doing calculations," she said. "But it's both. One is just as important as the other."
Chen and her fellow students in a mechanical engineering design course are discovering just how important communication is. The course puts students in teams, gives each team a stock set of materials and challenges them to design a remote-control vehicle capable of carrying out specific jobs.
"You really need to communicate well if you're going to do well," she said. "As a team you're debating design ideas and working out answers-it takes time. The planning is as important as the building."