Civil engineering student project wins first place at national competition

All civil engineering undergraduate students take a Capstone Design Course which is a culmination of their entire degree that is based on real-world engineering projects in Manitoba. This year, the “YWG Dynamic Consulting” team placed first with their project based on “The Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies”, adopted by the City of Winnipeg to improve Winnipeg’s active transportation network.

The team felt honoured to represent the University of Manitoba at the 2023 National Student Capstone Design Competition hosted by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineers in Moncton, New Brunswick. Transportation Lead, Jocelyne Dupas shared that, “Attending the conference was a once in a lifetime experience for us who are reaching the end of our undergraduate degrees. Having our full team on stage together to accept the first-place award made all the collaborative time and hard work put into this project incredibly rewarding”. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Price Faculty of Engineering, all six team members were able to attend the conference in person which allowed them to connect and network with industry professionals, and attend a variety of research presentations and panel discussions.

The capstone project, which spanned over the course of four months, was focused on active transportation improvements in the vicinity of the Osborne Street underpass. The team not only suggested improvements for the surrounding active transportation network, but also implemented a pedestrian and cyclist tunnel near Osborne station, bringing it up to a preliminary design level. The intended impact for this project to the community and City of Winnipeg active transportation users, was to provide safety, an adequate level of service, connectivity, convenience and accessibility to road users of all ages and abilities. Dr. Ehab El-Salakawy and Dr. Mike Lau, the course instructors, were very proud of their students, “Their enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication to their Capstone Project were reflected in an outstanding 208-page final preliminary design report, exceptional poster and top-quality presentation. This is the first time that a student team from the Price Faculty of Engineering won first place in such a strong national competition.” Dr. Shawn Clark, head of the Department of Civil Engineering also had high praise, “Our University of Manitoba team came in first place amongst all teams from across Canada. This impressive accomplishment not only speaks to the high quality of these students, but also the teaching that they receive in this course and throughout their degree, as well as the industry mentorship that they receive throughout their Capstone course.”

These competitions play a vital role in students’ education, “We can confidently say that this conference and competition has been a pivotal moment for every member in our team and we’re lucky to have had that experience. This will be something that we will be taking with us as we enter the profession and progress into our careers as professional engineers.”

Team members:

Robin Lorenzo – Project Manager

Derek Mazinke – Geotechnical Lead

Jocelyne Dupas – Transportation Lead

Gene Acurin – Structural Lead

Robi Lewarne – Hydrotechnical Lead

Reece Myska – Environmental Lead

Price Faculty of Engineering Communications