28 | WINTER 2018 ADVANTAGE STEEL FEATURE event.Thefirsttimearoundtheentireeventtookplace over one day, which was simply too compressed. Students had to set up the bridges for viewing and judgingforaestheticsandthentakethemdown,bring them across to the assembly hall and set them back up again to do the load test. So starting with the 2017 event, the competition has been stretched over two days. In addition to giving the students more time, it alsoprovidedmorebreathingroomforthejudgesand organizingcommittee. Bruderconcludes,“I’vebeenamazedatthepositive vibe this competition has created, with full kudos to Éric and Jean-Luc for bringing the idea onto the Canadian scene. Since graduating from university, I don’t often get to spend a lot of quality time with engineering students. What I’ve learned from this competition is that most students are very mature, creative and intelligent—with a great work ethic and fierce determination to do well in the event. It’s very reassuring to know that these are the people who will be running our companies, making decisions and designingourinfrastructure.They’vechosentodothis above and beyond their studies and they continually pushthemselves. Andwhatdothestudentsgain? Lachance-Tremblay says, “We gain real world experience in terms of constraints, such as building within a budget and on deadline. Textbook answers aresimplynotthesameasrealworldapplications.And another reason? Some of the students dress up and cheereachotheron—yellingwordsofencouragement fromthesidelines.Andit’sfun!” AS THE BEST PROTECTION FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW. Hot dip galvanizing provides a lifetime of corrosion protection, and it’s environmentally friendly and sustainable, making it the number one choice for transportation and infrastructure projects. Discover why we’re Western Canada’s leading and largest galvanizing company today. LIFELONG PROTECTION | daamgalvanizing.com EDMONTON | SASKATOON | CALGARY