UPEI Engineering students win at 2024 Atlantic Engineering Competition

Eleven UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE) teams, composed of a total of 41 students, competed at the 2024 Atlantic Engineering Competition (AEC), hosted at University of New Brunswick in Fredericton from January 19–21, 2024, by the Atlantic Council of Engineering Students.

Six of the UPEI teams will move on to the prestigious Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) in Calgary, Alberta, from March 1–4, 2024. This is the highest number of qualifying teams among universities in Atlantic Canada.

“The truth is that I’m never surprised by these kinds of outcomes,” said Dr. Wayne Peters, interim dean of the FSDE. “The knowledge, experience, and confidence needed to accomplish this kind of success are exactly the real-life skills that students develop in our FSDE program and that future engineers need to solve global problems. We’re expecting further success for these students at the national level in March. Stay tuned for more." 

The UPEI teams placed as follows in their respective categories:

• 1st place, Innovative Design: Aaron McCloskey, Spencer Blacquiere, Sophie Hayes, Ben McQuaid, Maddy Cronin, and Brett McQuaid.
• 2nd place, Innovative Design: Richard Hetherington, Morgan McLean, Elijah Dodd, Luke Jennings.
• 2nd place, Senior Design: Luke McCarvill, Matthew Dreise, Jason Nieuwhof, Elliott Fraser.
• 2nd place, Parliamentary Debate: Adiel Ngabo Rutabana, Lilly O'Rielly.
• 2nd place, Re-engineering: Berry Genge, Zackary Pendleton.
• 2nd place, Engineering Consulting: Victoria Keefe, Ellen O'Rielly, Basil Nagy, and Aly Abdelhalim.

Although they didn’t qualify for the CEC, one UPEI junior design team received high praise and positive feedback from judges and sponsors. Second-year students Jimmy Hulton, Abby Chapman, Ethan Arsenault-Saunders, and Yuvraj Singh Gill designed and constructed a bridge with popsicle sticks that withstood over 260 pounds, the highest weight threshold in the competition.

The AEC is an annual student-run initiative that began in 1983 and has since grown to become one of the largest and highly anticipated engineering competitions in Canada. AEC 2024 brought together over 150 of the brightest engineering students from nine universities across Atlantic Canada.

The three-day event provides a setting for students to develop meaningful relationships with their peers while demonstrating their engineering skills in a competitive environment. Students in teams of one to four compete in a series of eight competitions designed to test their innovative, problem-solving, and leadership skills—key qualities of a successful and well-rounded engineer.

The UPEI teams were supported financially by the UPEI Alumni Association, the UPEI Engineering Society, and the UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, allowing students to participate in the valuable experiences and networking opportunities that the event offered.