Posted on March 4: National engineering competition challenges students

Ingenuity, ambition, commitment. These three words characterize a group of students who will gather at McMaster University from March 4 to 7 to participate in the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC).

Organized by five undergraduate engineering students from McMaster, the conference connects student competitors with representatives from industry, government, and academia. In recent years, the CEC has developed an international reputation for showcasing the best and brightest of Canada's future engineers. The 2004 competition, which marks the 20th anniversary of the CEC, will test participants in a number of challenges, from arguing the importance of a social concept to solving a complex engineering problem in a limited time frame.

A highlight of the competition will be the team design challenges. In this category, competitors must participate in the design and construction of a project that will be revealed the day of the competition. Projects will be judged based on design originality, creativity, teamwork and presentation. While at the team design level, participants are allowed no preparation and only four hours of building, participants at the Senior Team Design level will have completed some research prior to their 10-hour challenge. A High School Design Team challenge ensures that future engineers have a preview of what lies ahead in their university careers.

Senior Team Design competition will be held in the Burke Science Building at McMaster University on Friday, March 5, 2004 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other events will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 116 King St. West, in Hamilton on Friday, March 5, 2004 and Saturday, March 6, 2004 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend the competitions and see the future of the Canadian engineering in action.