Tribune News Network
Doha
The College of Engineering’s (CENG) department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Qatar University (QU) hosted the closing award ceremony this week for the 10th High School Wooden Bridge Competition.
This competition, a key outreach activity organised by CENG, aims to inspire high school students to pursue a career in engineering, focusing particularly on civil engineering. Participating teams were tasked with constructing model wooden bridges using only sticks and glue.
In his comment, Prof. Alaa Al-Hawari, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, emphasised the competition’s role in fostering engineering skills among youth. “The competition aims to promote civil engineering skills among secondary school students by providing them with the opportunity to use their imagination to come up with innovative wooden bridges that can bear loads. This competition is a way to showcase the principles of civil engineering to participants, to highlight its importance to life and industry, and to attract distinguished Qatari students to the civil engineering program,” he said.
Dr. Wael Al-Nahhal, associate professor in the Civil Engineering Department at QU and supervisor of the competition, detailed the competition’s structure, “This year, we had 25 secondary schools participate, and 25 wooden bridges were tested. The total length of each bridge is 100 cm.” The model bridges are made with wooden sticks and wood glue, with the actual number of wooden sticks used in the bridge not exceeding 130 and the width not exceeding 30 cm.”
Dr. Alnahhal added, “This competition enhances the students’ confidence and their ability to make scientific decisions based on simple principles of civil engineering.” It also aims to provide them with the skills to work as a team and instil a spirit of cooperation to do any fruitful work.”
The prestigious event saw Ibn Taymiyyah Secondary School taking first place, followed by Qatar Banking Studies and Business Administration Secondary School in second place, and Al-Shahanyih Secondary School securing third.
