Student Design Competition

Putting Wastewater and Environmental Designs to the Test

Students present new wastewater and environmental designs at the WEF Student Design Competition.

The Student Design Competition (SDC) begins at the Member Association (MA) level. Each MA is encouraged to develop their own Student Design Competition based on a chosen design problem or allow student teams to bring problems they are currently working on.

The winner of an MA competition will be invited to compete at WEFTEC in the coming year. If only one school is willing to participate within the MA, that team may compete at WEFTEC assuming they meet the 2020 guidlines. A summary of changes to the 2020 SDC is also available for quick reference.

WEF also understands that many Member Associations are moving their Design Competitions to a digital format. With these changes in mind, the Student Design Compeition Subcommittee has thoughts, recommendations and timeline reminders for WEF MAs.

Register/Submit 2020 Entry Materials

Due to coronavirus delaying many Member Association SDCs, we are extending the hard deadline for student team submissions by one week.

While we would still prefer to recieve submissions by Friday, May 29, 2020, we will accept them until 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Friday, June 5, 2020.

Resources

Whether you are looking to start a Student Design Competition or have been invited to attend the National Student Design Competition at WEFTEC, the resources on this page will help answer many of your questions about the competition.

WEF Student Design Competition Resources:

Design Competition Guidelines (as of 2020)
Summary of Guidelines Changes (as of 2020)
Webinar Outlinging Competition and Changes (as of 2020)
PowerPoint associated with above Webinar
[SAMPLE] Design Team Entry Form (as of 2020)
[SAMPLE] Abstract Submission Form (and Executive Summary/In-Progress Report requirements) (as of 2020)
Competition Historical Information (team and sponsor participation)
Toolkit for Starting a Student Design Competition
Ideas for Attending WEFTEC on the Dime (as of 2019)

Competitions

The WEF Student Design Competition hosts two different competitions at WEFTEC:

Wastewater Design: The Wastewater Design Competition is intended to include design projects that traditionally address a challenge within a water resource recovery facility, e.g. hydraulic capacity design, upgrades to existing treatment systems, biosolids handling, etc.
Water Environment Design: The Environmental Design Competition is intended to include design projects that address challenges within the broader water environment, e.g. water reuse, stormwater management, wetland construction, etc.

Both the Wastewater and Water Environment Design Competitions follow the same guidelines and scoring system.

Benefits

There are many benefits to participating in the WEF Student Design Competition. At the competition, participants will have the opportunity to:

Network with students and industry leaders from across the world
Gain professional experience and exposure
Highlight their skills and enthusiasm for the water environment
Participate in WEFTEC activities tailored to students and young professionals

Results

Congratulations to past winners of the WEF Student Design Competition!

Year	Wastewater Design	Environmental Design
2019	University of Colorado, Boulder	University of British Columbia
2018	University of Colorado, Boulder	University of British Columbia
2017	University of Colorado, Boulder	University of Guelph
2016	Southern Methodist University	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
2015	Southern Methodist University	North Dakota State University
2014	University of South Florida	University of British Columbia
2013	University of South Florida	University of British Columbia
2012	University of Colorado, Boulder	University of South Florida
2011	University of Wyoming	University of Florida
2010	Southern Methodist University	University of Florida
2009	University of Colorado, Boulder	University of Florida

View Results From Past Competitions (2002 - 2018)

Student Design Competition

Resources

Competitions

Benefits

Results

Questions