College of Engineering's Roden Leadership Program unveiled its reality TV-inspired competition on Thursday, challenging engineering students to bolster the readership of the college's magazine.
The competition, called "Rodennovation," required participating teams to increase circulation and visibility of the college's magazine, The Vector. Competition creator Sameer Kamal, a senior chemical engineering major, said the winning team will receive at least $500 cash and a $100 gift certificate to Clay Pit restaurant. He said the magazine lacks a formal reporting staff, a set publication date and publicity.
"It's not a challenge common to engineering students, but it's something that needs attention," Kamal said. "A lot of the students do not know what is going on in their own college. We hope the teams can come up with a sustainable structure for the magazine, so that it can bring the information to more students."
The competition is open to registered engineering student organizations. Each competing team can have two to four members, but two-thirds of its members must have engineering background.
"The biggest challenge that we have will be finding members who are engineers," said Jason Schieck, a representative from Technology Entrepreneurship Society. "The challenge will really be about teamwork, between the engineering students and the business students."
Teams will have until Sept. 18 to sign up. On Sept. 20 registered teams will receive information on the challenge. Teams will meet with the staff and editor of The Vector on Sept. 27 and present their plan on Oct. 4. The progress of "Rodennovation" will be documented on video to give it the look of a reality TV show.
"We're working with technology students [to record the progress of the competition]," Kamal said. "We're using gift certificates as incentive for teams to come and do the majority of their work at a specific location so we can film them."
The teams will be judged by the panel of Student Engineering Council President Sriya Anbil, Vector editor Stephanie Beckett and mechanical engineering professor Steven Nichols. Roden President Michael Sinclair, a Plan II biomedical engineering senior, said teams will be judged on how well they answer the problem. The feasibility of their model, how much effort they put toward the solution and their presentation skill will also be judged.
Andrea French, a representative of Engineers for a Sustainable World, said the competition will strengthen the organization and facilitate more cooperation between members.
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