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The goal of the Junior Team Design category is to encourage first year undergraduate engineering students to produce a feasible design despite limited materials and preparation time. Engineers are often required to think quickly to produce a working solution given limited resources. In this category, competitors combine teamwork and problem solving skills to design, construct, test, and present a solution to a previously undisclosed project.

The material and the tools required for the project are provided by the organization. Ideally, reference books and access to Internet, programming and design software are also provided.

Entrance Requirements

One (1) team per school consisting of four (4) people may be accepted into the Junior Team Design category.

Competitors are limited to students who are currently enrolled in the first year of an undergraduate university engineering program. Team members from different fields of study are encouraged.

Category Format

The Junior Team Design consists of two phases:

1. Design, construction and testing
2. Oral presentation and demonstration of design

Phase 1 - Saturday Morning

The project will be revealed on the morning of the competition. The teams will then have the remainder of the morning to design, create and test their solution, after which no further work may be done on the design.

During the design, construct, and test phase, the judges will circulate and observe the teams at work. Teams are permitted to ask the judges questions. The judges may provide answers that clarify the problem at hand, but may not "coach" the students toward any particular design. In addition, the question asked and the answer shall be broadcast to all participants.

Phase 2 - Saturday Afternoon

The oral presentation should summarize the design process, the design itself, and any unique aspects of the design to the judges and the general public. During the oral presentation, the team must demonstrate the design to show how well it meets the requirements of the project.

Competitors will be given a maximum of ten (10) minutes to present and demonstrate.

A five (5) minute question period will follow the presentation during which the judges and the general public will be allowed to ask questions, with priority given to the judges' questions.

Judging

The most important aspects of evaluation in this category are the design and performance, teamwork, and the quality of the presentation. The marking scheme for the Junior Team Design category is as follows:

• Design and performance (does the design work and how well does it meet the requirements) – 40%*
• Teamwork (did the members of the team appear to work well together and did all members contribute to the problem solving process) – 25%
• Presentation** (clear explanation of the principles of the design, appropriate use of time, all members participate equally) – 20%
• Originality (does the design differ from other competitors and is it clearly the competitors' own work) – 15%

*The Design and Performance score of 40 percent may be broken down further as appropriate for the actual project. The breakdown of the Design and Performance marks will be revealed at the time that the project is revealed.
**Competitors will be assessed a penalty for not presenting within the allotted time frame.

Awards

TBD

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