PRESENTING groundbreaking engineering solutions for real-world challenges in the pitch category of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers (JIE) student competition, Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) walked away winners, also receiving the grand prize of a fully electric Nissan Leaf provided by JIE.

As part of Engineers’ Week 2025, JIE hosted the highly anticipated student competition on September 18 at the University of Technology, Jamaica, bringing together students from secondary and tertiary institutions to showcase their talent and ingenuity in three categories — bridge competition, pitch competition, and top three high school essays.

The day-long event highlighted the creativity and innovation of Jamaica’s budding engineers, under the theme, ‘Engineering innovation: Building a sustainable future for Jamaica’.

In the bridge competition, held to test structural design, strength, and efficiency of bridges, Excelsior Community College emerged winners, having built a structure from macaroni and crazy glue.

In the top three high school essay awards category, recognising outstanding contributions from high school students who explored the role of engineering in Jamaica’s sustainable development, the winner was Nathaniel Harris from Kingston College; followed by Ayeisha McPherson, Immaculate Conception High School, and Jason Hill, Kellits High School.

Cash prizes provided by sponsor NO Whyte & Associates Ltd were awarded to winners of both the bridge and pitch competitions — $50,000 for first place, $35,000 for second place, and $25,000 for third place. Cash prizes and trophies were also awarded to the high school essay winners.

Adam Bogle, engineer at Accelerate Energy and one of the judges for the competition, said it was a privilege being a part of the judging panel.

“I got to help mould and show young minds the experience I’ve garnered in the industry thus far. Having been a participant myself during the COVID years, I know the value of this competition as a springboard for young engineers. It builds community, creates networking opportunities, and strengthens professional development,“ he said. ”Most definitely, JIE and JIE Week is a springboard in your development.“

Guest speaker Richard Mullings, president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica, urged students to embrace both innovation and leadership as essential skills for the future.

“The sustainable engineer of tomorrow will not be judged by how much raw technical knowledge you carry in your head — that knowledge is online, and I can explain it faster than you can. Instead, you will be judged on your ability to take that knowledge, bring it into a project team, communicate it clearly, inspire confidence, and turn it into real outcomes,” he said.

Meanwhile, JIE President Colin Porter emphasised the importance of the competition in building future capacity for the profession.

“The student competition is very important to the JIE. In order to ensure that future generations of engineers are adequately prepared, the link to practising engineers is important. Challenging students to tackle real-world problems in an environment where there is not an abundance of information or tools — the knowledge and wits to generate workable solutions is critical. The competition is meant to expose students to this scenario and sharpen their minds to function in less than ideal situations.”