A student design competition is a specific form of a
student competition 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 principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
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
A concrete canoe is a canoe made of concrete, typically created for an engineering competition.
In spirit, the event is similar to that of a cardboard boat race—make the seemingly unfloatable float. However, since concrete and other pour ...
**
Steel bridge
* 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
**
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)
**
ASABE International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition
*
Robotics Competitions
**
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 authoriz ...
**
International Space Settlement Design Competition
**
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
RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI research by o ...
Soccer
* Multi-Disciplinary Competitions
*
Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge
See also
*
Student competition
*
University of Patras Formula Student Team - UoP Racing Team
Competitions
Student events