The Western Engineering Competition (WEC) is a highly prestigious competition between engineering students from the nine different universities in Western Canada.
The UBC Engineering Competition(UBCEC) is the qualifying competition to get into WEC, held here at UBC on November 21st. All 6 events which are done at WEC will be held at UBCEC; the top 2 winning teams from each event moves on to participate in WEC, which will be held at the University of Manitoba from January 20st to January 24th.
The six different categories that students can compete in at UBCEC are listed bellow. To register a team for an event, just click on the title of the event that you wish to participate in.
Registration is now closed for all events except Innovative 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.
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.
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.
In the Engineering Communication category competitors (a team of one or two) are asked to describe a technical subject in lay-man’s terms and present a structured analysis of its societal and environmental impacts. The competitors are judged on their presentation and verbal skills.
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.
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 required to promote their product prototype at a booth for the public and other attendees of the competition.