Looking for a way to prove to everyone that you know how to engineer? Want to set yourself away from the pack with some hands-on experience? The Waterloo Engineering Competition is the answer. We offer seven unique competitions of which first years can participate in Junior Design, Consulting and Sir Sanford Fleming Debates. Competitions are usually done in groups of two to four. The main objective of these competitions is to teach the hands-on design cycle and to allow students to demonstrate innovation, resourcefulness, and technical thinking.
Junior design offers students the ability to design, build and test (from scratch) a solution to an engineering problem. One past example was to move ‘mining-ore’ down a small-scale mock mountain terrain using basic craft supplies. The focus of this competition is hands-on engineering.
Consulting features a figurative solution to a macro-scale problem. A previous example was to solve the problem of annual flooding around Winnipeg due to snowmelt. Another problem was to improve Waterloo’s transit initiatives.
Sir Sanford Fleming debates features a formal head-to-head debate on unresolved issues of importance in society with particular interest to engineers. An example might be to debate energy policy in Canada or the ethical responsibility of engineering as a profession.
More info can be found at wec.uwaterloo.ca. Watch for posters regarding sign-ups in October or contact us directly at wec@engmail.uwaterloo.ca. Overall, first year is what you make it, so get out there and try things like WEC!
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