Lessons Learned from a Design Competition for Structural Engineering Students: The Case of a Pedestrian Walkway at the Université de Sherbrooke
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 136, Issue 1
Abstract
Competence in design is an engineering skill that can only be achieved with appropriate training and through accumulation of relevant experience. While in some fields of engineering there are numerous industry-oriented problems that can be investigated reasonably thoroughly, and for which the pinnacle of formation is attained when a team of university students builds a working prototype, there are unfortunately few genuinely realistic conceive-design-build-test (operate) opportunities in which structural engineering students can participate actively during their formative years. This stems from the very nature of structural engineering itself which, as in the case of most civil engineering designs, usually calls for a unique solution to a problem of relatively large scale. One way to provide a realistic and significant structural engineering design opportunity is through student design competitions. However, the conditions of success for such a competition depend on the appropriate coincidence of interest between program goals, commitment from the owner of the structure to be designed and eventually built, and support, both financial and technical, from professional or research organizations. This case study reports on a recent structural engineering student design competition for a pedestrian walkway in Sherbrooke, Canada. It highlights the key technical features of the competition, the organizational obstacles, and the professional benefits for the participants.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The Université de Sherbrooke is gratefully acknowledged for agreeing to support this competition. Special thanks are due to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the time, Dr. Richard Marceau, who wholeheartedly supported the competition and was able to set aside a budget for the construction of the winning entry, and to Ms. Francine Provencher, architect in the Building Services group, who provided advice to the jury and who was ultimately responsible for convincing the authorities to authorize construction. The competition would not have been possible without the essential involvement of the ISIS Canada Research Network of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence, and it is acknowledged with gratitude: the network supported the national competition process, offered awards to the five teams, and provided the exceptional services of Dr. Gamil Tadros as a counselor to the winning team and to the Engineer of Record during the final detailed design process. We wish to thank the engineering firm Teknika (now Teknika-HBA) of Sherbrooke, for their professional support, and especially the Engineer of Record, Mr. Gaétan Couture, for his personal involvement in the project evaluation, final engineering design, and construction. Research engineers Pierre Rochette and Marc Demers, research technician Claude Aubé, all from the Université de Sherbrooke, are acknowledged for their technical support during the competition, construction, and follow up. The second author thanks the individual thesis advisors of his team members, Dr. T. I. Campbell and Dr. M. F. Green for their assistance, support, and encouragement.
References
Afhami, S., Kamel, A., Kuzik, M., and Lacasse, C. (2002). “Pedestrian bridge design—First ISIS Canada student design competition.” Competition Rep., Univ. of Alberta Team, ISIS Canada Internal Report ISIS-SDC-1-02-01.
ASCE. (2004). Civil engineering body of knowledge for the 21st century: Preparing the civil engineer for the future, ASCE, Reston, Va.
Banthia, V., Crocker, H., Klowak, C., Memon, A., and Murison, S. (2002). “The first ISIS student design competition.” Rep. Prepared for Université de Sherbrooke Pedestrian Bridge, Univ. of Manitoba Team, ISIS Canada Internal Report ISIS-SDC-1-02-02.
Beaudoin, Y., Lamothe, P., Lapierre, P., Raîche, A. (2002). “Passerelle piétonnière couverte à la Faculté de génie de l’Université de Sherbrooke.” Dossier de candidature de l’équipe de l’Université de Sherbrooke, ISIS Canada Internal Report ISIS-SDC-1-02-03.
Bisby, L. A., El-Hacha, R., Ford, J., Tung, D., and Williams, B. (2002). “‘a_symmetry’—A pedestrian bridge for the Université de Sherbrooke.” Preliminary Design Rep. No., Queen’s Univ. Design Team, ISIS Canada Internal Report ISIS-SDC-1-02-04.
Canadian Standards Association. (1994). “Design of concrete structures.” CSA Standard A23.3, Toronto.
Craig, B., Lankinen, C., Al-Mayah, A., and El-Maaddawy, T. (2002). “Technical memorandum—ISIS Canada/Université de Sherbrooke Pedestrian Bridge.” Competition Rep. No., Univ. of Waterloo Team, ISIS Canada Internal Report ISIS-SDC-1-02-05.
Hanna, A. S., and Sullivan, K. T. (2005). “Bridging the gap between academics and practice: A capstone design experience.” J. Profl. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 131(1), 59–62.
Kruger, J., and Dunning, D. (1999). “Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 77(6), 1121–1134.
Paul, M. J. (2005). “Carving a capstone: Senior design at the University of Delaware.” J. Profl. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 131(2), 90–97.
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). “Developmental sequence in small groups.” Psychol. Bull., 63(6), 384–399.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 136 • Issue 1 • January 2010
Pages: 48 - 56
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 26, 2008
Accepted: Apr 16, 2009
Published online: Dec 15, 2009
Published in print: Jan 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.