General Innovative Partner

All-Ukrainian engineering competitions are the unique event in our country and participation of the students, partner companies in it gives them more opportunities and advantages.

In 2009 Ukraine appeared to be among 10 countries-participants and organizers of the first all-European competition EBEC (European BEST Engineering Competition - http://www.ebec2009.eu/)

Our main aims were:

- to attract students of engineering, computer, economic and analytic specialities for participation in the event;

- to carry out the first joint event of 3 Local BEST Groups in Ukraine;

- to provide communication in the triangle: companies-students-universities.

One can proudly say that we have reached these aims working fruitfully and finally got an interesting project of a high quality.

Our target audience for the project was huge enough - 80 000 students from three technical universities. Hundreds of posters, leaflets, booklets were distributed, many advertisements were held during the lectures, informational desks were placed – all to attract more participants! Presentations for potential participants were also held at each university. Definite requirements were made to the students – they had to know English well and have a practice of team work.

The number of registered students reached 300. Unfortunately the format of the project limited the number of participants and we made a selection out of the all applications. In the end, 6 teams in each category were competing with each other in each local round – 48 participants from each university. The students appeared to be creative and open-minded young specialists with brilliant knowledge and skills not only in their own speciality but also in other non-technical branches. Young electroengineers, radioengineers, students of chemistry specialization, architects, aeroengineers, economists and IT-engineers - all were solving tasks at Case Study and were designing models at Team Design (For details: Competitions - Format).

Local rounds were held in April 2009 in three technical universities of Lviv, Zaporizhzhya and Kyiv. Each local round lasted 3 days. Organizers of three Local BEST Groups in these cities were preparing these rounds jointly according to the fixed format and in order to provide the same working conditions for the students. We coordinated the tasks with a format, selected the members of the jury and invited the professors to take part in the task preparation. All CVs were additionally collected by the organizers so that all the companies-partners could inform students about possible future job opportunities.

Companies-local sponsors granted their tasks for local rounds in Case Study category:

Tebodin presented the task of economic type, 7 little tasks on logic and creativity, and finally a task to think of the name of airport in Lviv and ground it. The last project was just elaborating by this company.

Quadrox prepared the task on planning and designing the closed circuit television.

The task of P&G for the students was to improve the methods of manufacture, modernize the equipment and technologies.

Team Design task was to construct a mechanism that would launch a projectile on given height from definite distance.

“Local round of engineering competitions showed aspiration of students for elaboration of non-ordinary technological solutions and willingness to carry out their own technical knowledge practically. Creativity and novel approach of future engineers is valuable resource for technoligical future of the country creation, and our company is proud of the chance to pitch in its development”, - chief executive officer of the company “Honda Ukraine” (innovative sponsor of the competition) Hideto Yamasaki noticed.

Among such a diversity of the fields and specializations during the competition, only 6 teams (3 in category) appeared to win and continue competing in National round in Zaporizhzhya.

National round in Zaporizhzhya was more complicated and required from the participants more efforts. Company Diacom Group granted a task for Team Design category. As this company’s operation is directed on Smart House technology, teams needed to design a model of Smart Room, in which the transducers of light, water, smoke and movement were located. All these systems were mounted, connected and programmed. Participants have also listened to a lecture on automation and programming of such elements. It was really interesting and difficult project – a real challenge for future engineers.

A company SUN InBev Ukraine delivered a task in Case Study category. The main objective was to create a new project making monitoring and analysis of already existing and adopt it for the company. Teams have passed this task successfully, showed great skills and talent in management and huge motivation.

An event was supported with a press-conference and presentations of national round partner companies. Representatives of the companies and administration of the university were invited to an official closing.

As a result of competing between the teams, test of practical skills and participants’ creativity we’ve got two winner teams (one in each category). A team from Lviv Polytechnic National University members of which are architects appeared to be the winners in Team Design. Their project impressed jury with the quality of execution, method of relation to work and finally presentation of the results. In its turn a team from Zaporizhzhya national technical university has won in Case Study category. The way the students-electroengineers solved a business problem was really amazing. One can say definitely – only the strongest and worthy teams have reached the first places. The winners continued their competition in Belgium in August, 2009 where they matched with other teams from 10 European countries.

This project was planned with a perspective and its successful start gave the organizers chance to understand that this is not the last time when All-Ukrainian engineering competitions make such a noise in all country. Competitions are to attract more and more interested students and to solve more various, complicated and non-ordinary tasks.

That is why this year we organize II All-Ukrainian engineering competitions “UBEC”. And may be now it is your time to compete and become a winner! Don’t you think so?