This event is put on by a University of Toronto student group.

Designapalooza 2T6

Saturday, February 28, 2026
9:00 am-6:00 pm

For students in grade 8-12

Hi-Skule is a student-run engineering outreach club at the University of Toronto with the aim of informing students about the engineering profession, building the engineering mindset in youth, and facilitating opportunities for mentorship.

We are so excited to welcome you all to our new and improved engineering workshop event, Designapalooza. This event is aimed to give high school students more hands-on exposure to advanced concepts within different engineering disciplines through a guided design competition!

Note: Lunch and refreshments will be provided for all students.

Students are strongly encouraged to bring a personal device (laptop/tablet) if they have access to one. We will configure WiFi access to allow students to connect to the internet. No specialized software will be needed. Please note we have had issues in configuring WiFi with Chromebooks issued by TDSB in the past.

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Design Competition Information:

This year, students are tasked in a challenge. You will be guided and explore how engineering and robotics principles relate to the challenges faced by Olympic athletes. In this context, teams will design a robot inspired by Winter Olympic events, specifically one capable of navigating an obstacle course and shooting at designated targets, similar to the biathlon. Such a robot would need to integrate advanced mobility, sensor systems, and targeting mechanisms. The design competition provides an opportunity for participants to apply mechanical design, programming, and simple hardware systems to build a robot that demonstrates agility, accuracy, and reliability, echoing the skill and precision seen in Winter Olympic competition.

Students will compete in groups of 6, and are more than welcome to create their own team ahead of time and request it at checkout. No worries as we will fill teams under 6 members with other individuals!

Note: Students do not need to know how to code or work with hardware for attending. We will have many workshops and mentors around to guide students towards their solution. This is reflected in prizes as they will be awarded to a variety of different categories, not just 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Some past examples are best presentation, most accurate shot, fastest time etc.

This year we are excited to provide amazing prizes such as mechanical keyboards, computer mice, and headphones.

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The tentative schedule for the day is as follows:

9:00 AM – Registration Table Opens

9:30 AM – Opening Remarks from the Hi-Skule Team

10:00 AM – Design Phase #1

12:30 PM – Lunch & Talk to a Representative from the Engineering Recruitment Office

1:00 PM – Design Phase #2

3:30 PM – Judging & Testing

5:30 PM – Closing & End

Register for the event here!

If you have any questions about the event, please contact the student club directly at hiskule@skule.ca.