Tribune News Network
Doha
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Qatar University (QU)’s College of Engineering (QU-CENG) celebrated the conclusion of the 11th High School Wooden Bridge Competition with an award ceremony this week, honouring the creativity and skills of young engineering enthusiasts from local secondary schools.
The competition awarded first place to Qatar Science and Technology Secondary School, second place to Doha Secondary School, and third place to Qatar Banking Studies & Business Administration Secondary School, highlighting their exceptional bridge designs.
As one of CENG’s many initiatives to inspire high school students to pursue engineering, particularly civil engineering, this competition challenges students to construct model wooden bridges using only sticks and glue. The activity allows participants to explore foundational engineering concepts while engaging their creativity and problem-solving skills.
In his comment, Prof. Alaa Al Hawari, head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at QU, said, “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.”
Dr. Hamad Al Nuaimi, assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the competition’s supervisor, stated, “25 secondary schools participated in the competition and tested 25 wooden bridges. The total length of each bridge is 100 cm. The bridges are made with wooden sticks and wood glue, with the number of wooden sticks used in the bridge not exceeding 130 and the width not exceeding 30 cm.”
Dr. Hamad added, “This competition enhances the students’ confidence and ability to make scientific decisions based on simple principles of civil engineering. “Such competitions are also an important step toward developing a new generation of engineers and scientists, contributing to serving the State of Qatar and achieving its National Vision 2030.”
