Industrial Engineering Competition
Overview
Students take on the role of junior industrial engineers, tasked with designing and presenting solutions to make a city service smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable, while the competition introduces industrial engineering through relatable urban and service-based challenges that highlight how the field extends far beyond factories and into everyday life.
All competitions should be prepared in advance and conducted on the day of the competition.
Deadline to register: October 10, 2025
Challenges
Teams will work on one of the following case challenges:
- Smart Waste Collection: Propose a route and schedule that minimizes fuel consumption while ensuring timely garbage pickup.
- Public Transportation Flow: Redesign a bus stop or mini-network of routes to reduce congestion and waiting.
- Energy-Efficient School/Building: Suggest how to optimize classroom use, lighting, and air conditioning for lower costs and emissions.
Industrial engineers usually use the following to solve such problems:
- Process Mapping – to visualize workflows.
- Queuing Models – to understand waiting lines.
- Scheduling & Optimization – to allocate limited resources efficiently.
- Sustainability Thinking – to balance efficiency with environmental impact.
This competition emphasizes how IE makes cities run better for people and the planet.
Preparation Material
Welcome to the Smart City Challenge!
Industrial engineers design better systems not only in factories, but also in cities optimizing transportation, reducing waste, and improving services for communities.
Key Topics to Know Beforehand:
- What is Industrial Engineering?
- Efficiency experts: improve systems, cut waste, and save time/money.
- Blend of math, science, and management.
- Process Mapping:
- Use flowcharts to understand how things currently work.
- Example: how garbage is collected from your neighborhood.
- Queuing & Scheduling:
- Why do we wait in line? How can we reduce it?
- Example: scheduling buses to match rush hour demand.
- Layout & Route Design:
- Where should resources be placed?
- Example: designing the shortest garbage collection route.
- Sustainability in IE:
- Minimize waste, energy, and emissions in solutions.
Resources to Explore:
- Videos:
- “How Cities Can Be Smarter” (TEDx).
- “Industrial Engineers at Work” (IISE YouTube).
- Websites:
- Smart Cities World: www.smartcitiesworld.net
Evaluation
- Problem Understanding (20 points)
Clear grasp of the city challenge; effective use of IE concepts. - Innovation & Creativity (20 points)
Proposes novel, practical, and impactful ideas. - Feasibility & Realism (20 points)
Can be realistically implemented within resource and cost limits. - Sustainability (10 points)
Incorporates eco-friendly or socially responsible improvements. - Data & Analysis (10 points)
Uses maps, charts, flowcharts, or calculations to support the solution. - Presentation Quality (20 points)
Clear, visual, engaging presentation; team communicates ideas effectively.
Total Points: 100
For any inquiries about this competition, please contact