Although the taxing effect of COVID-19 on academic institutions and students has been widespread, industry judges were impressed with the virtual presentation of student projects at the annual Engineering Project Showcase at Texas A&M University.
Close to $15,000 was awarded at the 2020 Engineering Project Showcase, which featured more than 180 teams showcasing the projects of nearly 1,000 engineering students. These projects included capstone design projects from engineering departments across the Texas A&M College of Engineering, and multidisciplinary team projects such as those focused on entrepreneurship, Aggies Against COVID-19, the AggiE_Challenge program and student design competitions. Project themes ranged from water, energy, health, space exploration and others.
“It is amazing to see the innovative solutions our students were able to develop while working remotely due to COVID-19,” said Magda Lagoudas, executive director for industry and nonprofit partnerships. “Furthermore, I can’t thank our industry judges enough for dedicating their time to judge the videos and provide great feedback to teams. This event would not be possible without industry engagement.”
Over 150 industry judges signed in to the project showcase virtual platform to view project videos and supporting documentation. The judges’ comments provided students with real-world feedback on the use of engineering methodologies for the development of the solution, consideration of cost and feasibility, and overall presentation to a potential sponsor.
This is the eighth year for the showcase, a signature event for the College of Engineering. The event is made possible by the generous support of industry. Silver sponsors of the event were Baker Hughes, Daikin, Emerson, Jacobs and Shell. Bronze sponsors were Viasat and National Instruments.
The full list of 2020 winners can be found on the engineering website.