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A group of University College Dublin students represented Ireland on the international stage at the ENGCOMM 2021 Case Competition based in Montreal, Canada scooping four top awards.

The team, Glas Solutions, was awarded Best Team Chemistry, Best Engineering Solutions, Best Business Solutions, and Most Sustainable Solutions, in the process of placing a close second in the overall competition. It was UCD's first time entering the highly competitive event.

The team was captained by Aoife Cunningham, Stage 3 Bachelor of Commerce International student at UCD Quinn School and was comprised of Mechanical Engineering students Scott Mulligan, Allannah Duffy and Benjamin FitzPatrick. The team competed against 16 universities from across the globe in February.

“You truly don't know what you are capable of until you challenge yourself,” said Aoife who also won the prestigious award for the Best Individual Speaker. “ENGCOMM is a unique experience in that you are faced with case study after case study, forcing you to combine problem-solving skills with creativity to come up with an innovative yet functional solution that you can present and defend with conviction.”

ENGCOMM tested the abilities of the team to adapt to each specific case, while overcoming different challenges. “As an engineer, I now understand the importance of the business side to any solution and it really demonstrates just how important it is to work on interdisciplinary teams,” said Scott Mulligan.

Team mate Benjamin FitzPatrick commented,

“Our team was forced out of our comfort zone numerous times, tasked with creating innovative solutions to a wide range of problems. It was a long week, with some late presentations as we were working on Canadian time. Nonetheless it was thoroughly enjoyable and I could not have wished for better team mates than Allannah, Scott and Aoife. On ENGCOMM, you would be hard pressed to find an environment in which you could learn as much in as little time."

"Participating in ENGCOMM 2021 has been one of the highlights of my time in college,” said Allannah Duffy. “From the initial qualifying competition in November, through all the preparation and research, and culminating in the week long competition at the end of February, I have learnt so much. As a team we grew enormously throughout the journey, learning one-another’s strengths and becoming really good friends”

The team was coached by Associate Professor Aisling Ní Annaidh, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, who has helped three UCD teams now claim victory at the ESB Inter-Colleges Challenge.