More than 80 first year engineering students took part in this week’s Central Queensland University Engineering Induction Program.

The week comprised outdoor team building activities, indoor rock climbing and a design and build competition, along with normal timetabled classes.

The team building activities involved ‘getting to know you’ activities, trust exercises and problem solving games.

First year engineering lecturer Ian Devenish said the week-long induction aimed to promote team work and lay the foundations for the Project Based Learning undertaken in the engineering programs.

Teams from Gladstone and Mackay will travel to Rockhampton for the design and build competition and the following barbecue on Friday.

This year’s competition will require students to design and build a model of a capsule to protect a pilot of a crop dusting plane.

The model capsule is to be constructed from drinking straws, paddle pop sticks, string and rubber bands. The lightest weight capsule that protects the pilot will win the competition.

The capsule will be tested by using an egg to represent the pilot. The capsule will be catapulted into a vertical wall – hopefully not injuring the fragile ‘pilot’.