Take students from different universities, randomly assign them to mixed teams, solve a problem given by an industrial company in three days and present it in front of a jury of academics – this was the International Student Conference on Mechanical Engineering at Széchenyi István University. However, the event means always much more than a competition: it connects companies from the Western Transdanubian region with students, gives insight into real projects and forges a real community.
The realisation that there is a huge demand from companies to involve students in their current projects, and they are happy to join if they can gain experience from real industrial tasks led to the creation of the International Student Conference on Mechanical Engineering at Széchenyi István University years ago, where participants are randomly selected in teams to solve a complex technical problem in just a few days.
The concept of the event is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century: to provide practice-oriented education in the form of an engineering student competition, so that the companies that provide the tasks can benefit from useful solutions and, more importantly, talented students.
“The companies participating in the conference can see for themselves, while the students are solving tasks, what kind of knowledge the students possess, thus gaining an understanding of the future generation of engineers. It happens that they offer them internship positions or even full-time jobs,” said Márton Légrádi, the event’s main coordinator. “ It is also important for the companies that they receive a usable solution to their problem, which many of them later integrate into their processes,” he added.
“It is a unique opportunity for students to test their knowledge in real industrial projects,” said Dr Gábor Dogossy, the Dean of Audi Hungaria Faculty of Automotive Engineering, in his welcoming address (Photo: Máté Dudás)
This year, ten companies joined the event as task-providing sponsors. Dana Hungary Kft., Eaton Manufacturing Hungary Kft., Jankovits Engineering Kft., KNISS Kft., Motherson Hungary, Rába Járműipari Holding Nyrt. and Schäffler Savaria Kft. participated again, joined by Robert Bosch Kft. and Sága Foods Zrt. for the first time, and after a prolonged absence, the returning Audi Hungaria Zrt.
A total of 12 teams were formed from the 73 participating students from the host Széchenyi István University, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the University of Debrecen, the University of Miskolc, the John von Neumann University, the University of Nyíregyháza and the University of Óbuda, together with young people from three institutions from abroad – the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and the Technical College of Subotica.
The companies set tasks in a way to be both achievable and challenging enough for the students. There were some in which the students had to design a completely new product (or machine), and others in which the aim was to automate or optimise an existing process.
An example of the latter is Audi Hungaria Zrt., which asked students to improve an existing process: when assembling cylinder heads, the bushes and pins are punched into the tool by cooling them with liquid nitrogen, but this is a time-consuming and costly process. The company was looking for an alternative solution where the same operation could be carried out without cooling, resulting in shorter cycle times and lower costs.
At the same time, the conference is at least as much about community building as it is about individual professional development. There is no other student event in the country where Hungarian-speaking mechanical, mechatronics, and vehicle engineering students from the Carpathian Basin can meet, so the initiative from Győr fills a huge void. The young people can work in mixed teams while getting to know each other’s education and customs.
The car meet and exhibition has grown into a popular family event in the city and a nationally renowned gathering for car enthusiasts, attracting more than three thousand visitors this year (Photos: András Adorján, Máté Dudás, Bettina Korinek, Gergely Nagy)
The bogrács served as an important point for community building (Photos: Bettina Korinek)
“The great advantage of the Conference (GSZNHK) is that the organisers have combined problem solving and community building in such a way that it is an ideal blend of the two “, emphasised István Bulzán from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, who was joined by Norbert Csánó, a student at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava: “In our programme, seven of us out of fourteen students are Hungarian, and we all came to the conference. I regret that I only made it now, as a senior, but I am also glad that I could be part of it. It broadened my professional horizons and I got to know a lot of colleagues,” he said.
According to Cintia Sajben, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Debrecen, she gained references during the collaborative work that could be beneficial in the future. “It turned out how many different competencies exist in our profession, which also made me want to delve into them,” she revealed. “I think people who like to think and are solution-oriented should come to this conference,” added Miklós István, who is studying in Miskolc. “I primarily helped the team with the presentation, which is extremely important, because it’s not enough to finish the project, it also needs to be sold,” he emphasized.
“There are many similarities between sports and teamwork. Here too, I have to make decisions, manage stress and, when the need arises, push my own limits. This year, I stepped out of my comfort zone again, this time also taking on the role of presenter, and I’m happy that I ultimately performed successfully,” highlighted vehicle engineer Balázs Kovács, who, as a SZE scholar, joined the conference for the second time.
Gergely Patakfalvi-Vigh, who also studies in Győr, contributed to the success of the conference twice: once participated as an organiser, and this time as a team leader. We asked the master’s student in mechanical engineering how much artificial intelligence supported the problem-solving process. “AI is already an indispensable tool in engineering work. It’s the same as if we had used a search engine. However, the idea came from a human, the machine only answered our questions on a few minor details,” he revealed.
According to Dr Zoltán Horváth, the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Informatics and Electrical Engineering, it would be worthwhile to develop the tasks within the framework of a semester-long project, thus allowing students to gain insight into the further depths of the profession (Photo: Gergely Nagy)
The award-winning teams (Photos: Gergely Nagy)
Source: https://admissions.sze.hu/sze-conference-gives-real-industrial-experience-and-creates-community