Teams from the universities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Calgary, Victoria, Simon Fraser, British Columbia, Northern British Columbia, as well as the University of Regina will compete.
Teams have developed products to solve problems related to energy efficiency, medical research and fitness. In the senior design category teams will be building a robot that could potentially aid in bomb detection and safe deployment.
The event, which is organized and hosted by engineering students, has benefits beyond the skills competition, says WEC 2009 communications co-chair Drew Baldock. "The competition allows industry professionals and professors to interact with students on a personal level, which benefits the larger corporate and academic communities," says Baldock.
The WEC officially opens at a ceremony from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, in the Rotunda of the Terrace Building at 10 Research Drive. Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Hutchinson will kick-off the event.
The Innovation Trade Fair, an event that is open to the public, will take place at the Regina Inn and Convention Centre from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 23.
The WEC concludes with an awards banquet at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the Regina Inn.
For more information about WEC, visit http://www.wec2009.ca.
Contact:
Drew
Baldock
Dr. Denise Stilling
WEC
Co-Chair
Faculty of Engineering
(306)
527-0550
University of Regina
Drew.Baldock@wec2009.ca
(306) 337-2696