U of A Engineering Design Competition co-ordinator Vadim Uritsky keeps a close eye on the action during the Senior Design competition.
(Edmonton) More than 100 engineering students took time last weekend to put their education to the test in the University of Alberta Engineering Design Competition, battling for bragging rights and the chance to compete at the Western Engineering Competition in January.
The students competed in seven events that demanded use of a variety of engineering skills such as designing and building prototypes, communicating engineering concepts, and even debating.
Organized by the Engineering Students' Society, the event provides students with a chance to put what they're learning in the classroom to use. Winners of each category qualify for the western Canada competition, being held in Kelowna B.C.; winners in that series qualify to compete at the national level.
Competition co-ordinator Vadim Uritsky says the calibre of work his fellow students carried out was impressive.
"I had the opportunity to witness some wonderful minds at work and the judges were all incredibly impressed," he said.
A third-year mechanical engineering student, Uritsky added that he was in unfamiliar territory as the co-ordinator of the event.
"The experience was unlike anything I've done before," he said. "I did it to push myself in a new direction and a few days later, after thinking about it, I feel good about it. It went well."
ESS President Sarah Elder, who is in her final year of studies in electrical engineering, says events like the engineering design competition will help round out the participants' engineering education.
"In these competitions you are required to apply your engineering skills in real-world settings and that includes developing skills that you might not learn in the classroom-soft skills like communication and debate, she said.
The Western Engineering Competition takes place at UBC Okanagan Jan. 13 - 16.