York Chapter Engineering Research Project of the Year Award

2024 York Chapter Engineering Research Project of the Year Award is open for applications!

Apply now by completing the application form.

PEO York Chapter is the largest chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), with over 10,000 members in York Region and accounting for 10% of PEO's membership! With such a large engineering presence in the community, the Engineering Project of the Year Award acts as York Chapter's platform to build new, or deepen existing, relationships with high-tech companies and related businesses in the region, and ultimately highlight the engineering profession in our community!


The Awards Gala for the 2024 competition will be held on April 2025 (tentative) at a business venue in York Region; the winner of each category will be invited to attend the gala. The winner from each category will also receive the coveted honour of delivering a presentation on their successful project as part of the evening’s address, with the option to present video or other multimedia demonstrations showcasing the organization, the project team, and its engineering achievements.

For Engineering Research Projects, please read further on this page for the Engineering Research Project of the Year Award details.


For Engineering Projects, please refer to the Engineering Project of the Year Award. Any given project can only apply to one of the two awards in one given year.


View the 2023 winners here.

Objective


The objective of this competition is to recognize the contribution, both to the engineering profession and to the local community, by an organization that has undertaken or completed an outstanding project of a technical nature within the past year.


The benefits of participating in this competition are significant for both the Applicants and the engineering profession in York Chapter. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Connecting high-tech companies to their local engineering community and potential community partners
  • Educating engineering experts about local high-tech companies, connecting key talents and businesses
  • Creating positive economic growth through executing technological innovation and resulting in job creation and employment opportunities through technological innovation
  • Providing local businesses with a wide public forum in which to market their technical expertise and showcase their engineering successes
  • Raising public awareness of the engineering profession and highlight current York Chapter activities

Competition Description and Deadlines


Phase I: Abstract Submissions

The deadline for submissions is Friday, January 17, 2025 @ 11:59pm EST. To submit your abstract, download and complete the application file and submit via email to awards@peoyork.com.


Phase II: Preliminary Evaluation

Finalists will be selected by the Engineering Project of the Year Award Committee and will be notified by Friday, February 14, 2025. The selections will be made based on the strength of each application in its ability to satisfy the evaluation criteria.


Phase III: Finalists Presentation

The top finalists from each category will each prepare and deliver a short presentation that illustrates the project highlights and how the project meets the four evaluation criteria. Further details about the nature of the presentation will be communicated to the finalists when they are notified.


The presentations will be delivered to a panel of judges in-person on Saturday, March 8, 2025 (tentative).


Phase IV: Selection of Engineering Research Project of the Year Award Winner

Based on an evaluation of the detailed presentations, the winner for each category will be selected and announced at the Awards Gala in April 2025 (tentative).

Evaluation Criteria


Research Project Categorization:

Projects of all types of engineering (discipline) will be considered equally. All engineering research projects will be classified into one single category.


Evaluation Criteria:

All project submissions will be judged for their quality within the following four criteria, which will be weighted as indicated below:

  1. Innovation, Technical Merit and Distinction (35%)
  2. Environmental and Social Sustainability (25%)
  3. Commercial Viability (20%)
  4. Impact to York Region & Neighbouring Communities (20%)

Guiding questions for the criteria are shown within the application form.

Prize and Honours

The 1st place winner will be invited to give a short presentation on their winning project at the Awards Gala. Additionally, the 1st place winner will receive the following prizes and recognition:

  • A commemorative trophy
  • A complimentary free table at the Awards Gala (number of seats TBD) to celebrate with members of their project team
  • A promotional article for their winning project on the Awards section of PEO York Chapter website
  • Invitation to display an informative booth at the Gala, showcasing their projects and/or other company achievements, and presenting marketing information (dependent of venue size; limited spots available)

Eligibility

Eligibility is determined based on the applicant's business successfully satisfying the following conditions:

  1. The organization has an operational presence in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
  2. The project must be overseen by at least one licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.
  3. The project must have been completed within 2024 or be at a substantial stage of completion (e.g. substantially designed, constructed, or manufactured) within 2024
  4. Project details submitted must include only publicly available information.
  5. Projects that received 1st or 2nd place honours in the previous year's competition are not eligible for resubmission.
  6. Projects that were not selected as finalists in the previous year's competition are eligible for resubmission, provided all of the above eligibility criteria are met.
  7. Projects can only be entered for either the Engineering Project of the Year Award or Engineering Research Project of the Year in a given year, not both.
  8. Engineering Project of the Year Award Committee members and PEO York Chapter executive board members cannot be listed as the main project contact, project engineer, or presenter for the Finalists Presentation.

In addition to the above, project eligibility is determined based on the candidate project successfully satisfying the following conditions

  1. The research project must have an engineering application
  2. If an external industry partner is engaged in the project, their direct involvement within the research project should be less than 50% (e.g. If University X partners with Company Y for a research project, Company Y's employees cannot be directly conducting the research for more than 50% of the content)
  3. The research project should have current and/or future implications in the engineering industry and/or profession

If the project eligibility criteria are not satisfied, the applicant should be applying for the 2024 Engineering Project of the Year Award instead.


*Note: PEO York Chapter reserves the right to move a project to the Engineering Project of the Year Award if it considers this to be more appropriate than the original submission. Any change to an applicant's competition award will be communicated to the applicant.

Questions

Please direct any questions relating to the competition to awards@peoyork.com. Questions and answers that may be beneficial to all applicants will be published to this website.

Q: How many teams are competing for the Engineering Project of the Year award?

A: The total number of applicants will not be known prior to the application deadline. All eligible entries will be considered.

Q: What publicity will applicants receive during the application process or after the award?

A: Projects selected as finalists may be profiled on the PEO York Chapter website. All finalists will be invited to the awards gala, which is attended by PEO York Chapter members and various dignitaries including PEO council members, OSPE representatives, and local MPs and/or MPPs.

Q: How much information will we have to disclose?

A: Please review the application form. You will need to disclose enough information to complete the required fields. If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to prepare a presentation with additional detail about your project. Please ensure that any information you provide is internally reviewed and approved for public release. If your project is of a proprietary nature and cannot be described without revealing sensitive information, you may wish not to apply.

Q: Will we get a "single point of contact" throughout the process?

A: The PEO York Chapter Awards Committee will strive for consistency in communication wherever possible. You will be contacted by one of the members of the steering committee. The official contact for the committee is awards@peoyork.com.

Q: Will there be any up front cost?

A: There is no application fee. You only need to invest your time for the preparation of the abstract and, if selected, the final presentation.

Q: Do we have to provide a demo of our product/system?

A: A product or system demonstration is not a requirement and may not be feasible depending on the nature of the project. However, where appropriate, demonstrations (or prototypes, etc.) are most welcome as part of the final presentation.

Notes

  1. For the submission to be considered a project, there must be a clear start and end to the project, with a product, service or result.
  2. Submission of project details implies express consent to publish any information in a public forum. PEO York Chapter is not responsible for the safeguarding of information once it has been received. It is recommended that applicant organizations conduct a thorough review of all application materials prior to submission to address any commercial or propriety issues related to the release of information.
  3. Award details and deadlines are subject to change. Modifications to the schedule and/or logistics will be posted to this website and/or communicated directly to applicants.
  4. The applicant agrees to provide the required information to the PEO York Chapter Awards Committee.
  5. The applicant hereby authorizes the PEO York Chapter to use, release, and retain the applicant(s) name(s), non-financial information, photographs, video recordings, and audio recordings of the applicant(s) in connection with the promotion, administration or evaluation of this Award without any compensation to the applicant.
  6. The applicant is required to submit the information with the supplied application form. Only complete application forms will be considered.
  7. The applicant agrees to promptly disclose any conflicts of interest that may exist. PEO York Chapter reserves the right to resolve the conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis.
  8. The Finalists Presentation Judging Panel may request the applicant to provide further information as necessary.
  9. The decision of the Judging Panel is final.