A special presentation was made on Friday 13 August in Rockhampton at the Cathedral College by Central Queensland University to a team of four students who won the CQ Multicultural Fair & CQU Open Day Year10 Engineering Competition.

Professor Elizabeth Taylor, AO, Dean of the James Goldston Faculty of Engineering & Physical Systems, Central Queensland University, presented certificates and gift vouchers to the winning team members Patrick Stockall, Melissa Jensen, Tamara Larkin, Trent Mayall.

The competition attracted a star line-up of five teams from Glenmore Hight School, The Rockhampton Grammar School, The Cathedral College, The Rockhampton High School and The Rockhampton Girls' Grammar School.

The students were given a scenario where food must be transported to flood victims stranded on a remote island. With limited time and resources, a boat was required to transport the food across the swollen river, without damaging or losing the load. The teams constructed their boat from the materials available and the designs were judged during a field test at the Multicultural Fair & Open Day last Sunday.

The winning design was the one that carried the most food over the full length of the test pond. The competition highlighted some of the real engineering challenges faced in our world today and is designed to encourage secondary school students to consider engineering as a career option.

The testing attracted a crowd of passers-by, who all witnessed the innovative and creative designs proposed by all of the teams. Although no two designs were alike, all of the boats fulfilled the basic design criteria. Although there was only be one winner, all of the participating teams were commended for their enthusiasm and commitment to the task.

The University proudly acknowledges the sponsors of the competition: Ergon Energy, Qld Government Dept of Main Roads, Engineers Australia - Qld Division and APESMA .