21 March 2009 Over 100 engineering students from Universities around the UAE participated in the First Annual Intercollegiate Wooden Bridge Competition.  The event, organized and hosted by the AUD Civil Engineering Student’s Association (CESA) required students to design, construct and test a 2-meter long wooden bridge with the winning team determined by the strength to weight ratio, relating the load at failure to the weight of the truss.  The event, said Rany Metry Deskoores, president of CESA, offered “a great opportunity for engineers-in-the-making to shine outside the confines of their lecture hall … [enabling them] to satisfy the vibe of challenge and creativity within [their] soul.”

There was a strong showing with over 100 students from UAE Universities in attendance.  The largest participation was by the American University of Sharjah (AUS) with 15 bridges entering the competition.  Teams from the Men’s and Women’s colleges of the UAE University had 5 entries, while 5 teams from the American University of Dubai (AUD) participated.  The bridges were loaded to failure, or to a predetermined maximum deflection, to identify the ultimate load.  The event and entries were overseen by a judging panel including professors from each of the participating organizations.

Competition was fierce, with teams from AUS holding the lead before being unseated by a UAE University entry.  AUD entries took the lead late in the completion with the bridge designed by Flavio Faustini, Rany Metry Deskoores, AlHassan Mohammed and Basilio Dahlan. Their bridge carried the maximum load of 600 kg without exceeding the deflection limit, nor exhibiting local failure.   The team was awarded the grand prize — a plaque and a civil engineering toolkit.  First place entries from each of the participating universities also received a toolkit. 

The event represents a successful beginning of a tradition of intercollegiate competition within the UAE Civil Engineering community, a tradition in which the AUD School of Engineering plans to participate in future years.