About the Waterloo Engineering Competition (WEC)
The Waterloo Engineering Competition (WEC) is a design competition run in collaboration with the Engineering Society and Sandford Fleming Foundation (SSF).
The competition covers topics like design, prototyping, circuits, programming, consulting, and much more!
The top teams from each competition will have the opportunity to represent Waterloo at the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC), and compete for a chance to advance to the nationals at the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC). Each category’s top two place winners will also get prizes sponsored by SFF, the Faculty of Engineering, and EngSoc.
Competition Descriptions
Junior/Senior Design
Teams are given a complex engineering problem and are required to design and build a working prototype. The teams will then present their solution and test their prototypes in front of a panel of judges.
Consulting
Teams must design a detailed solution to a large-scale engineering problem. The team will then pitch the solution to the client (judges)
Programming
Teams must produce a software project to solve a posed problem. The emphasis is not on optimizing algorithms, but engineering a thought out complete solution with the most real-world application.
Re-Engineering
Teams must apply the re-engineering process to an existing technology or design in order to add new functionality or enhance its original functionality.
Bio-Engineering (Not Running S23)
Teams must comprehensively solve a bio-engineering problem by selecting a component of a case study to focus on. Teams should identify one issues outlined in the prompt and develop a biomedical engineering design to improve the healing experience for the person in question.
Sandford Fleming Foundation Technical Speaking
The Sandford Fleming Foundation Technical Speaking Competition is being held virtually this term. Recorded presentations can be submitted until Monday, July 19 at 5:00 PM ET and there will be a live Q&A period on Thursday, July 22 starting at 5:00 PM ET. Engineering students are invited to participate individually. If you are a great communicator, this is your opportunity to demonstrate and hone your skills through an 8 to 10 minute presentation. Pick a technological process or issue and clearly explain it to a general engineering student audience, with an emphasis on social, technological, economic, and/or environmental impact. Your presentation topic could be a work term project, an academic project, or something you have worked on in your spare time. The top competitor will receive $200 in prize money and be invited to represent the University of Waterloo at the Ontario Engineering Competition in January 2022. The second place competitor will receive a $100 prize. More information about the competition and submission requirements can be found at https://uwaterloo.ca/sandford-fleming-foundation/competitions/technical-speaking-competition. Please contact sarah.meunier@uwaterloo.ca for questions regarding policy or format.