Survey of K-12 engineering- oriented student competitions

Abstract

Fifty three primary and secondary level competitions were identified through an extensive web search. They range from local to national in scope and the most popular topic is robotics. A single team may do well in a competition for several years. When the competition requires building something, winning teams typically have an enthusiastic advisor and access to money, space, tools and experts. Although many students who participate in competitions study STEM disciplines at the tertiary level, it is not clear if competitions encourage students with no initial interest to study engineering or if students interested in engineering join these competitions.