Construction management students to represent Wayne State at NECA innovation challenge finals in Nashville
An updated version of this story was posted on Oct. 21.
The Wayne State University student chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) is preparing to participate in the finals of the 2021 ELECTRI International/NECA Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge (ECIC). Six seniors in the College of Engineering's construction management (CMT) program will be representing the 26-member team in Nashville with hopes of winning a yearlong competition in which students use their creativity and ingenuity to design a new electrical system for a proposed residence hall.
Wayne State University, Iowa State University and the University of Toronto will present their respective projects to a panel of judges at the NECA Convention and Trade Show which begins Oct. 9.
The competition, formerly titled the Green Energy Challenge, is integrated annually into Wayne State's senior capstone program by CMT director Joseph Vaglica, Ph.D. According to Vaglica, this is the fifth consecutive year Wayne State has participated but the first time it has qualified as a finalist for the main event.
Students collaborate with local professionals and apply learning from the CMT curriculum into a real-world scenario. They were split into five project teams — controls and security, design, lighting, scheduling and estimating, and technical energy analysis — and met frequently, most of the time virtually, to develop a viable plan.
“Despite the pandemic creating challenges with keeping connected and on the same page for the work that had to be done, we were able to overcome these issues with cooperation among our team leaders and our NECA contractors,” said team secretary Jenny Torrico.
Using Wayne State’s 2020 campus master plan as a guide, the group sought to fulfill the university’s desire to fulfill the growing demand of affordable on-campus housing and provide a sustainable environment, all while being cost effective. According to Torrico, they received one of this year's highest scored written proposals.
The students partnered with representatives from the Southeast Michigan Chapter NECA (SMCNECA), including assistant chapter managers Jim Chase and Jason Head, and benefitted from the mentorship of such industry professionals as Greg Firman and Eric Galbraith from Conti Corporation, as well as Richard Shaffer from JMC Electric.
The NECA Convention and Trade Show is considered the biggest event in the country for electrical professionals, drawing hundreds of attendees and exhibitors from all aspects of the electrical construction and building systems industries. This presents a unique opportunity for Wayne State students to grow their networks and meet potential employers, all while representing their university and collectively sharing the culmination of months of hard work.
“Prior to our senior project and throughout the competition, my teammates and I heard feedback from alumni that the NECA competition would be a life-changing experience,” said Torrico. “We have learned so much about teamwork and project management, and strengthened many of the friendships we’ve made throughout our CMT curriculum.”
Updates from Wayne State and other participating NECA student chapters can be found under the #ECIC and #NECANashville21 hashtags. Follow the WSU team on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.