Celebrating Innovation with EBEC engineering student competitions in Italy, Benelux, and Poland
The European BEST Engineering Competition (EBEC) has again taken the stage, bringing together talented engineering students from prestigious universities across Europe.
This year, the spotlight shines on three remarkable challenges: EBEC Italy, EBEC Benelux, and EBEC Poland. These competitions not only showcase the participants’ exceptional skills and ingenuity but also provide a platform for addressing real-world challenges through innovative design solutions. Each competition had around 100 participants, totaling 300 students. The participants will be challenged to come up with innovative designs using Solid Edge, Siemens’ software. The overall theme for all competitions is “Recycle, Repair & Reuse,” emphasizing sustainable solutions. Let’s delve into the highlights of each event and discover the incredible achievements of the competing teams.
EBEC Italy Challenge: Tackling Plastic Waste Extraction
In the EBEC Regional Challenge Italy, held in Milan from May 12 to 15, 2023, students from renowned institutions such as Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Sapienza Università di Roma, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, & Università di Roma Tor Vergata showcased their talent and problem-solving abilities. Collaborating with Plastic Fischer GmbH, a member of the Solid Edge for Startups program, the participants were tasked with developing a semi-automated prototype to extract plastic waste from polluted rivers in countries like India and Indonesia. The competition encouraged students to think outside the box and utilize cutting-edge design tools like Solid Edge to support Plastic Fischer in their goal to commit to environmental sustainability and making a positive impact on our planet.
The winning team, FLAM from Budapest impressed the jury with their comprehensive and feasible solution. Aviel Itzhak, CTO at Plastic Fischer, and part of the judging jury: “With their practical design of a so-called Bucket Wheel Boat the team tried to solve two problems: collecting the trash automatically with a kind of mill wheel from our TrashBoom systems and at the same time pack it into handy boxes that would be installed next to the mill.” Itzhak confirms, “we will take all ideas with us to see if any of the suggested solutions could be implemented to better extract the trash from the rivers.”
EBEC Benelux: Redesigning Machine Covers for Supfina LCM Superfinishing Machines
From April 28th till May 1rst the EBEC Benelux brought together students from prestigious universities, including Université Catholique de Louvain, Grenoble INP – Ensimag, Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, University of Gent, Arts et Métiers Centre de Bordeaux and Friedrich Alexander University Nuremberg at Technical University of Delft. Siemens partnered with its long-term German customer Supfina to challenge the participants in designing a new machine cover for Supfina’s LCM Superfinishing Machines. The teams were encouraged to think creatively and consider sustainable materials in their designs. The winning team, Yaegerists from FAU Nuremberg, impressed the jury with their innovative Black Forest-inspired design using recycled plastic.
Markus Müller, design lead at Supfina: “The competition showcased the participants’ engineering prowess and their ability to merge functionality with sustainable and aesthetically pleasing designs.” Also, Prateek Sharma, student of Computational Engineering at FAU and a member of the winning team was amazed by the “incredible experience”. In his LinkedIn post, he says: “I feel grateful for having the opportunity to work on such an amazing topic and competing alongside such talented individuals. Thank you Markus Müller for drafting the task to design a new machine cover for your LCM Superfinishing Machines along with Siemens. Also, I want to give a huge shoutout to Susann Kunz and her other colleagues from Siemens, for providing us the Solid Edge Software. Its Synchronous Technology, Generative Design Toolbox, and insane rendering ability helped us a lot to materialize our ideas and thoughts in CAD form. Also, a big thanks to Board of European Students of Technology (BEST) Delft University of Technology chapter, for organizing the whole event and giving us such a memorable experience throughout our stay in Delft. I learned so much from the competition, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my amazing team, Rajat Kushwaha, DWEEJAL SHAH, and Rahil Soni. Our teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills were put to the test, and I am proud of how we rose to the challenge.”
EBEC Poland: Automating Agricultural Solutions for Large Farms
In Poland, EBEC Poland presented students with the task of designing an automated agricultural vehicle for large farms in the Polish area of Masovian Voivodeship. From April 17 to 20, 2023 the teams from AGH University of Science Krakow and Technology, The Silesian University of Technology Gliwice, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, and Gdańsk University of Technology met at Gdańsk. The Innovative Design task was to create a user-friendly vehicle that could efficiently harvest and transport wheat while prioritizing safety, environmental friendliness, and minimal damage to terrain and roads. The winning team, NTM Mechatronics from Cracow, demonstrated exceptional engineering skills and delivered with their Chain Harvest System a solution that surpassed expectations. Their automated agricultural vehicle perfectly balanced technological innovation and sustainable farming practices. Ewa Mikos Romanowicz, Business Development Manager at Siemens Sp. z o.o. supported the contest locally. Her feedback reads as follows: “It’s amazing to see how our Solid Edge digital tool manages to solve challenges and make life easier. This confirms that competitions such as EBEC are needed to inspire development.”
Fostering Innovation and Collaboration
Siemens Digital Industries Software has been a proud sponsor and supporter of BEST and EBEC competitions since 2019. By providing access to Siemens software, such as Solid Edge, and providing online training students gained valuable experience in using cutting-edge CAD tools. Donna Wright, Academic lead at Mainstream Engineering: “Siemens’ commitment to supporting engineering education and engaging with the next generation of engineers is evident throughout these competitions.”
EBEC Italy Challenge, EBEC Benelux, and EBEC Poland have once again demonstrated the incredible talent and innovative spirit of engineering students across Europe. Through these competitions, students have tackled real-world challenges, pushing the boundaries of engineering design and sustainability. Siemens’ sponsorship and collaboration have been instrumental in enabling students to utilize industry-leading software tools and showcase their abilities.
About EBEC
The European BEST Engineering Competition (EBEC) is one of the largest engineering competitions organized by students for students in Europe. It is an annual event organized by the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), attracting nearly 7,000 students each year. EBEC brings together students from various engineering fields and offers students a platform to showcase their engineering expertise, problem-solving skills, and innovative ideas. The competition follows a pyramid structure, starting with 87 local rounds held at universities in different countries. The winners of these local rounds advance to 15 national and regional rounds, where they compete against other top teams. Finally, the best teams from each country gather at the EBEC Final Round, representing their universities and countries on a grand stage.
EBEC encompasses two main categories: Case Study and Innovative Design. In the Case Study category, teams are presented with real-life engineering challenges and are required to analyze, devise solutions, and present their findings within a given timeframe. This category emphasizes critical thinking, technical knowledge, and teamwork.
On the other hand, the Innovative Design category encourages participants to unleash their creativity and engineering skills by designing and building prototypes or conceptual solutions for specific problems. This category often involves utilizing advanced technologies and software tools to bring ideas to life.
The EBEC competition provides a unique opportunity for students to apply their academic knowledge in practical scenarios, collaborate with peers from different universities, and demonstrate their abilities to industry professionals and potential employers. It promotes the development of essential skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and time management.
