Opportunities and challenges for collaboration industry-academia via sponsored design competitions

Collaborations between industry and academia have been recognized as a valid alternative to expose students to more realistic problems and situations than the ones that are typically offered to them. One particular way to implement the industry-academia collaboration is by means of design competitions. These design competitions can be at the local, regional, or even national level. These industry-sponsored design competitions usually imply to design and develop a product/system, which then is evaluated and tested under specific competitions. The idea of having well-defined and controlled competitions as pedagogical technique to motivate and get students involved, particularly in pre-college years, is not a new concept. Competitions such as Science Olympiads and FIRST in the USA are good examples of successful nationwide events. The interesting situation is that more industry are getting involved as direct, and sometimes sole, sponsors of design competition for college students. On the academic side, such industry-sponsored design competitions are typically carried out as senior design projects or as capstone design projects. This situation presents both opportunities and challenges for all parties involved. Faculty recognize the value of industry-sponsored projects for involving students in genuine practice of the design process, and participating in major competitions can result in substantial resources, supportive sponsors, and enhanced motivation for students. However, such competitions may also impose timing, process, materials, fabrication, and performance constraints that are not always encountered in a more typical semester, senior, or capstone design project. This paper discusses the participation of students, from Western Michigan University (WMU)'s engineering and engineering technology programs, in local and national international industry-sponsored competitions. Innovative product design based on specified design criteria led students through each step of a complete engineering design process, and the eventual ranking in the local/national competition. Incorporating long-term performance criteria of a product at an early stage of the design cycle was beneficial, and this experience is discussed. However, the team encountered a number of challenges in working through the many constraints of the competition. Because such competitions typically work from a corporate rather than an academic timeline, prototyping, design refinement, fabrication of the final product, and a performance-based competition may be overwhelming as an academic activity. Variability of the design team, integration of multiple design concepts in the final design, component fabrication, and performance issues related to selection of available industrial components in lieu of specified components in the design are also discussed. All of these specific conditions affect the implementation method of a traditional engineering design process and must be addressed by the technical advisors/faculty involved. Thus, while design competitions sponsored by industry with global presence offer exciting potential for academics, it is important that faculty, students, and sponsors recognize and respond to the constraints and challenges they are likely to face in successful completion of these projects.