A ten-year review on building marine aspired generations through ship model and marine vehicle competitions

The Students' Contest on Handmade Ship Models is a science competition organized by the Naval Architecture scholars to promote public's understanding and learning about ship science and marine vehicle technology. This Contest has been funded by the Pop Science Project, Department of International Cooperation and Science Education, Ministry of Science and Technology since 2006. The key purpose of this contest is to encourage students from any fields to combine the knowledge of fluid mechanics, structural analysis, mechatronics, control theories, system engineering, etc. All ship models in this contest have to be designed and built by students themselves. Therefore, students will obtain the abilities as how to integrate theories and practical work. Students' creativity is also highly stimulated in the processes. In the past 5 years, the contest attracts more than 150 teams and about 1000 competitors every year. The Contest became international in 2013 when teams from Thailand and South Korea also joined. Students from various ages, genders, and disciplines gathered together for the contest. They all showed highly enthusiastic and devoted in integrating science knowledge and technologies into their own model ships. The Contest offers 4 divisions every year. In 2016, the divisions are “Straight Racing” for high school students, “Design and Making”, “Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV)”, and “Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV)” for undergraduate and graduate students. The organizers revise the rules every year to reflect the current technological policy or trend of the country. In the past 11 years from 2006-2016, estimated over 7000 students have attended the Contest. We have witnessed students gaining knowledge and developing ability about marine technology through their involvement with the Contest. Many young competitors have grown to be professionals serving in the marine industry. Now, this Contest has become a must-attend for many students who are interested about marine and ocean. Several high schools and universities teams have developed their own curriculum to teach students to take on the challenges. It is very rewarding to see ship and marine related projects becomes favorite and the average level of students' science competence has grown over the years. a very effective and valuable way to build marine aspired generations.