Canadian Engineering Competition

The annual gathering of the very best and brightest engineering students across Canada! Through eight different competitions, students will be challenged in the fields of innovation, design and communications.

CEC 2021 will be held at University of New Brunswick from February 26 - 28

Each year, the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) brings together over 200 of the most innovative and creative engineering undergraduate students from across the nation to compete against each other in eight categories (Junior Design, Senior Design, Innovative Design, Engineering Consulting, Parliamentary Debate, Re-engineering, Programming, and Engineering Communication). Each competition category at CEC challenges its participants to expand their frame of reference and to identify solutions to problems experienced by our profession.

Established in 1985, and hosted yearly at a constituent school, CEC is a highly selective competition. Those invited must first best their peers at their own intra-school competition, and then must achieve a top performance at their respective regional competition. They are:

In true Canadian style, CEC is a bilingual event, permitting students to compete in choice of English or French, with simultaneous translation available for judges and observers in both languages.

The competition represents a valuable opportunity for industry participation and support, and sponsors and contributors propose real-world case studies for competition themes. The judges are drawn from related industry fields, or academia, and share their experiences with the competitors throughout the weekend as they network with the top up-and-coming engineers.

"CEC pits you against the top engineering students from across the country, and it’s really exhilarating to see how you and your school stack up”

Sean Heisler, Extemporaneous Debate 2009-2011

Competition Categories

JUNIOR DESIGN

You'll be given a real-world problem and must work within limiting time and budget constraints to design, create, and test a physical prototype of their proposed solution. As the competitors are just beginning their engineering studies, concepts will be based off a general level of engineering knowledge, such as forces, mechanics, etc.

You must be in the first two years of your degree programs.

SENIOR DESIGN

You'll be given a real-world problem and must work within limiting time and budget constraints to design, create, and test a physical prototype of their proposed solution. As the competitors are near the completion of their engineering studies, concepts they may need in their design can span a variety of disciplines.

You must be in the third year or later of your degree programs.

INNOVATIVE DESIGN

You will combine your creativity and knowledge to develop new technological designs or improve upon existing ones. The research and ideas developed are done outside of the competition, which you'll present a high-quality display to the judges. Your professional presentation should demonstrate the technical, social, environmental, and economic impact of your design.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

COMMUNICATIONS

You must explain an applicable process or issue of your choice, and form a coherent argument that clearly identifies its social, economical, technological, and environmental impacts. Your explanation should be aimed at catering to an audience of various technological backgrounds.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

PROGRAMMING

You will be challenged to make an industry-quality software to solve a given problem. The software will be presented to the judges for evaluation.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

RE-ENGINEERING

You are encouraged to use creativity and innovation in order to redesign an existing product or process either to improve its functionality or to adapt it for a completely new purpose. You will be judged based on functionality, practicality, feasibility, and marketability.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE

Engineers are often required to evaluate and argue for or against a proposal on short notice. In this category, you will defend or refute a previously undisclosed resolution using the format of parliamentary debate. Subjects for debate will relate to the fields of engineering and science, or those that is within relation or interest pertaining to engineers and engineering students. You preferably have a broad knowledge of engineering concepts and their impact on society, and have an ability to rationalize decisions quickly and concisely.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

CONSULTING

The consulting competition challenges competitors to design a detailed solution to a large-scale engineering problem. The proposal must be made in a way that promotes the solution to the client. Competitors must demonstrate technical knowledge and skills, and evaluate the economic, environmental, political, and social implications of their proposed solutions in order to best address the requirements of the customer.

Competitors in all years of engineering studies are eligible for participation.

Past Hosts

Year	Host	Location	Date	Media
2020	University of Manitoba	Winnipeg, Manitoba	March 6-9
2019	University of Waterloo	Waterloo, Ontario	March 1-4	Photos
2018	Ryerson University	Toronto, Ontario	March 8-11	Photos
2017	University of Calgary	Calgary, AB	March 3-5	Photos
2016	McGill University	Montréal, QC	March 4-6
2015	Memorial University of Newfoundland	St John's, NL