About 350 students of industrial and systems engineering from across the country were on the UWindsor campus last week for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Canadian Student Conference.

The event, January 25 to 28, featured competitions, networking, and seminars with a Windsor twist, including group tours of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and a case study seeking suggestions to improve the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

Conference organizer R.J. Sivanesan, a UWindsor engineering major, led participants through the building, pointing out aspects of its operations and explaining the parameters of their case study.

“How can we do a better job showing students how to get around the CEI, helping them to find their classrooms?” he said. “”How can we make the building more safe?”

Teams were given three hours to come up with ideas and prepare them for presentation to a panel of judges.

“It’s not a lot of time,” said Heather MacKnight as she sat down with three classmates from Dalhousie University. “We’ll have to focus on the easy stuff.”

Sivanesan said any recommendations will be welcome: “The University will want to see the best solutions.”

Teams also competed in creating a simulation, technical papers, theoretical examinations, and a Jeopardy-style trivia quiz.

“It’s a chance for us to meet our counterparts from engineering schools across Canada, while also showcasing some of our cutting-edge facilities and technologies,” Sivanesan said.