The Middle East Design Competition is patterned after the UK Space Design Competition is a science and engineering challenge designed as a simulation of life in industry.

Teams are given a list of requirements for a space settlement, and have a day to come up with a detailed design which they present to a panel of judges who include experts in the field of space, engineering, business and medicine.

MESDC is open to secondary and sixth form students (Years 10 – 13) in the Middle East, and entry to the competition is via video during the 2018-2019 and regional and video competitions will be held during 2019-2020. A selected team of 12 will take part in the international finals (ISSDC) at a NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Galactic-Challenge replicates this experience for younger students in ages 9-14. Galactic Challenges are held throughout the year. If your school is interested in hosting a GC please contact the Galactic Challenge team j.lyons@uksdc.org

The aim of the competition is to provide students with the chance to take part in a design simulation that exposes them to the joys and challenges of working in a large industrial team.

Students have to develop a space-based infrastructure that requires complex, challenging, and imaginative thinking leading to an increased interest in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics.

“When people asked why I was going on the trip this summer, I told them ‘I’m going to build a space station in two days.’ I thought I was joking. It seems I really wasn’t.” – Former Student

At the UK Final, four companies of up to 50 students compete for a lucrative contract from the fictional Foundation Society to build a settlement somewhere in space. This company will have just 24 hours to design their settlement for more than 10,000 inhabitants, dealing with everything from structural engineering to communications, entertainment to food production, and construction timelines to comprehensive costings. The next day they will present their final design proposal to a panel of expert judges.

“We gained new insight and discovered hidden talents….Many of these skills have become crucial factors in our college lives.” – Former Student

Selected members of the winning team are then invited to represent the MEA at the International Final at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando.

For more details of what the competition involves, take a look at our ‘What to Expect’ .