Students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock participated in the Planning + Design Student Challenge March 17-23 in San Diego, California.

The Planning + Design Student Challenge is organized annually in conjunction with the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and Planning Design and Construction (PDC) Summit.

This was the first time UALR students were involved with the student challenge. The four participating UALR students include Chloe Jerry and Cerise Inganji, seniors majoring in civil and construction engineering, and William Minyard and Humberto Rodriguez, seniors majoring in construction management.

Each team is comprised of students from UALR, Texas Tech, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with an architect, two engineers, and a construction manager.

Inganji’s team placed first, while Minyard’s team received an honorable mention.

Chris McKenney, faculty coach and adjunct instructor in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering, said he was more than happy to represent UALR.

“Everyone involved is very excited about this opportunity,” said McKenney.

A specific design challenge was given to the four participating teams upon arrival at the conference. The event was scheduled to take place during a 48-hour period in conjunction with the PDC Summit.

The primary objective of the challenge is to stimulate critical inquiry, creative ideas, and multidisciplinary interaction between students and design professionals.

Design solutions produced by the teams are expected to demonstrate the planning, design, and engineering, as well as information about phasing, construction scheduling, construction cost, and project cost.

Teams presented their proposals for review and comment in front of a panel of architects, engineers, contractors, educators, and other experts involved in the healthcare design and planning profession. Winners were announced based on the jury panel’s recommendations. All student work was exhibited during the PDC conference and published after the event.