UBC Okanagan will be hosting a qualification competition, UBCECO, on November 26th from 9AM – 5PM. This is a precursor to the Western Engineering Competition (WEC) is a highly prestigious competition between engineering students from the 11 different engineering schools in Western Canada.  The top teams from this qualifier will move on to represent UBCO in WEC.

The form for registering your team is available here: http://ubcoengineers.com/ubceco/

The six different categories that students can compete in at WEC are listed below.

Junior Design

Exclusive to first and second year students, the Junior Team Design category challenges teams of four students with a physical engineering problem. Each team is given approximately four hours and the materials to come up with a solution to the given problem.

Senior Design

Exclusive to third and fourth year students, the Senior Team Design category challenges teams of four students with a physical engineering problem. Each team is given approximately five hours and the materials to come up with a solution to the given problem.

Consulting Engineering

The Consulting Engineering category gives teams of four participants approximately five hours to devise an innovative solution to a real-world problem prescribed by a hypothetical client. Each team is expected to assess the economic and social aspect of the problem and present a proposal to a hypothetical client.

Engineering Communications

In this event, competitors are asked to describe a technical subject in lay-man’s terms and present an analysis of its societal and environmental impacts. Judging is based on the participant’s presentation and verbal skills. Teams can be comprised of one or two members.

Impromptu Debate

The Impromptu Debate category challenges participants to defend, from a given viewpoint, a topic disclosed just before the debate. Each team is composed of two members and they are expected to present a structured defense of the assigned topic.

Innovative Design

This category requires the competitors (a team of one to four) to present an innovative and commercially viable solution to a problem of their own choosing. They are expected to carry out market research and feasibility studies as well as draft a business proposal for their product. The competitors are also encouraged to promote their product prototype at a booth for the public and other attendees of the competition.