A student design competition is a specific form of a
student competition
A student competition is any student event where an individual or a team compete for a prize where skill is the main predictor of the winner. There can be a competition between students or teams of students within a classroom or across different s ...
relating to
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
. Design competitions can be technical or purely aesthetic. The objective of technical competitions is to introduce students to real-world
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
situations and to teach students project-management and fabrication techniques used in industry. Aesthetic competitions usually require art and design skills.
Both students and industry benefit from intercollegiate design competitions. Each competition allows students to apply the theories and information they have learning in the class room to real situations. Industry gains better prepared and more experienced engineers.
History
Through the 1970s only one competition of significance existed:
Mini Baja. Today, almost every field of engineering has several design competitions, which have extended from college down into high school (e.g.,
FIRST Robotics
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (''FIRST'') is an international youth organization that operates the ''FIRST'' Robotics Competition, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Explore, ''FIRST'' LEGO Leagu ...
) and even younger grades (e.g.,
FIRST Lego League
The ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge (formerly known as ''FIRST'' LEGO League) is an international competition organized by '' FIRST'' for elementary and middle school students (ages 9–14 in the United States and Canada, 9–16 elsewhere).
Each ...
). The Society of Automotive Engineers organizes the largest design competitions, including Baja SAE,
Sunryce, and
Formula SAE
Formula SAE is a student design competition organized by SAE International (previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE). The competition was started in 1980 by the SAE student branch at the University of Texas at Austin after ...
.
Notable design competitions
* Civil engineering
**
Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race
**
Concrete canoe
**
Steel bridge
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries ro ...
* Mechanical engineering
**
Baja SAE
Baja SAE is Collegiate Design Seriescompetition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE International). Teams of students from universities all over the world design and build small off-road cars. The goal in Baja SAE is to ...
**
Basic Utility Vehicle A Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) is a simple rugged vehicle designed for use in the developing world. A slew of such vehicles were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s; most only reached limited production and market penetration as used Western ...
**
Formula SAE
Formula SAE is a student design competition organized by SAE International (previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE). The competition was started in 1980 by the SAE student branch at the University of Texas at Austin after ...
**
Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC)
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedality, bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex Human brain, brain. This has enabled the development of ad ...
**
*
Robotics Competitions
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
**
DARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for American autonomous vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense. Congress has authorize ...
**
International Space Settlement Design Competition
The International Space Settlement Design Competition, more commonly known as "SpaceSet" or "ISSDC", is an annual competition founded by Anita Gale, Dick Edwards, and Rob Kolstad. The competition is supported by various Aerospace, Engineering, and ...
**
NASA's Lunabotics Competition
NASA's Lunabotics Challenge
Since 2010, NASA’s Lunabotics competition has provided college students from around the country an opportunity to engage with the NASA Systems Engineering process to design and build a robotic Lunar excavator capab ...
**
RoboCup Soccer
* Multi-Disciplinary Competitions
*
Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge
See also
*
Student competition
A student competition is any student event where an individual or a team compete for a prize where skill is the main predictor of the winner. There can be a competition between students or teams of students within a classroom or across different s ...
*
University of Patras Formula Student Team - UoP Racing Team
Competitions
Student events