First-year engineering students showcase innovation and teamwork in NGN 110 Competition

More than 100 engineering students in 25 teams at American University of Sharjah (AUS) competed in the highly anticipated annual NGN 110 Competition, which required them to build a racecar that could carry a 500-milliliter water bottle that is 80 percent full, and travel a minimum distance of five meters using energy harvested from rubber bands.

Organized by the university’s College of Engineering (CEN), the competition is part of the first-year Introduction to Engineering and Computing (NGN 110) course taken by all engineering students, serving as a platform for enhancing their skills in teamwork, engineering design, problem solving, time management and communication skills.

As students raced their cars in the Main Building Rotunda, they were evaluated on their technical background, level of analysis and detail, creativity, innovation, teamwork, and their final report and presentation, earning points for each category. The winners were determined based on the points earned, as well as by the weight of the car and the distance it traveled.  

“The competition enhances students’ confidence in working in the field of engineering while being part of a multidisciplinary team. In the NGN 110 course, students learn how engineers work and communicate with those outside their specialty, which will be useful in their day-to-day life once they take off into the real world,” said Aqeel Ahmed, Professor of Practice in Civil Engineering and event organizer.

He added: “The competition gave the students an opportunity to work with their peers and learn from their mistakes, which in turn provided them with a valuable learning experience. I am very grateful to the participating students, volunteers, judges, Dean of CEN Dr. Fadi Aloul, Associate Dean of CEN Dr.  Assim Sagahyroon, the entire AUS events management team and AUS departments that made this event a great success.”

The winning team comprised students Mohammad Al Qassmi, a chemical engineering major; Fouzan  Hamza, a mechanical engineering major; and Kane Larkin Baruel, an electrical engineering major. Their race car weighed 91 grams and traveled 10.65 meters, achieving the highest score. 

“Our team was thrilled to win the competition. We learned a lot from working with each other. Engineering is more than a scientific discipline. It also requires soft skills such as effective communication and teamwork to achieve success, and that's what we learned from this course and this competition,” said Al Qassimi. 

Building students’ soft skills along with their technical knowledge is paramount for students’ development and highly influences their careers, said Dr. Aloul. 

“Having the right soft skills means the ability to work with others and to positively influence work settings through communication, as well as having a team spirit, highly developed presentation skills and networking abilities. Engineers do not work in silos and this course focuses on teaching these soft skills in a fun and inventive manner that also puts students’ technical knowledge to the test. By the end of their four-year education in CEN, our students have developed strong leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, research and communication abilities that allow them to run any project smoothly, deliver results, and grow at the personal and professional level,” he said. 

The competition judges were Dr. Karnail Singh, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; and Dr. Ming Foey Teng, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering in CEN.

With a strong track record of excellence, CEN offers a wide choice of programs, including undergraduate programs in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. It also offers nine master’s programs and two PhD programs. For more information about CEN, please visit www.aus.edu/cen.