History

Entering its 27th year, the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) represents the best showcase of skill and innovation of Engineering students from across the nation.

Each year CEC brings together 150 of the most innovative and creative engineering undergraduate students from across the nation to compete against each other in one of six categories. 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 by the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students, and hosted yearly at a constituent university, CEC is a highly selective competition. Those invited must first best their peers at their own intra-university competition, and then must achieve a top performance at their respective regional competition (Atlantic Region, Quebec, Ontario, and Western Region). In true Canadian style, CEC is a bilingual event, permitting English and French speaking students to compete in their native language, 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 often propose real-world case studies for competition themes. Judges are typically competition sponsors drawn from a related field of industry or academia, and are encouraged to share their experiences with the competitors throughout the weekend. UBC Engineering was the host of the 1990 Canadian Engineering Competition, and we look forward to having the event revisit our campus.

Theme

'From Sea to Sky' was the theme selected to represent the 2012 Canadian Engineering Competition, paying homage to both the breadth of accomplishments within the field of Engineering and the diversity of the natural beauty of this year's host city, Vancouver.

The principles of Engineering have existed since the very first problem was discovered, and a method was created to solve it. Engineering, at its root, is the application of science and technology to solve real world problems and improve our quality of life. In our highly interconnected society where the lines between fields of study and innovation continue to blur, Engineers can be found everywhere. Be it exploring the depths of the Mariana trench with new robotics, designing and testing new hydroelectric turbines to generate tidal electricity, serving countries and municipalities in offices of law and politics, or performing cutting-edge research in laboratories to make materials stronger and lighter for aerospace, Engineering influence assuredly spans our planet.

In a striking parallel, Vancouver and the Lower Mainland represent an incredible cross-section of nature: a temperate rainforest just a short drive from desert areas, bordered on one side by premier skiing resorts and another by the nation's largest port. Vancouver is routinely ranked one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in no small part because of its sweeping landscape from the oceans to the peaks.

We take great pride in the diverse natural beauty of our city and the technical excellence of the University of British Columbia, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to share it through the 2012 Canadian Engineering Competition. We look forward to welcoming 150 of Canada's best and brightest Engineering students, and showcasing them to our generation's industry leaders in engineering, innovation and design.