SWE and PepsiCo Kick Off Student Challenge

By Tamiera Vandegrift on April 25, 2017

On April 20, 2017, the Society of Women Engineers (otherwise known as SWE) and PepsiCo began this year’s PepsiCo/SWE Student Engineering Challenge, according to a recent press release. This annual event challenges and encourages college undergraduate students to work to find creative ideas and practical resolutions to some of the most realistic and pressing issues in the business and science world today.

The Society of Women Engineers was founded in 1950. It is also the world’s largest activist and promoter for change for women pursuing careers in engineering and technology. To make sure that its members can work towards the careers of their dreams, the Society of Women Engineers offers its members networking opportunities, professional development, and has a direct influence on shaping public policy and putting well-deserved recognition in place for the important and life-altering impacts and honors of female engineers.

The organization provides the foundation and support for STEM women to have success in both their personal and professional lives. The PepsiCo/SWE Student Engineering Challenge embodies these values and more by challenging, encouraging, and guiding these students toward thinking critically and addressing real-life challenges that face our world today.

Image via: The Society of Women Engineers website

From now until July 17, 2017, college undergraduate students are welcome to form teams to participate, with no greater than four members. The team(s) are encouraged to compete in the PepsiCo/SWE Student Engineering Challenge by proposing a solution or response to one of these real-life issues:

Water: Consider how water is used at different points along the life cycle of PepsiCo products and propose how we can lessen our net environmental, water extraction or overall usage.

Packaging: Present a sustainable packaging solution applicable to a food or beverage product.

Equipment: Design what the next core category of PepsiCo beverage equipment will look like to accompany our current offering of coolers, fountains, and vending machines.

Image via: The Society of Women Engineers website

Out of all the submissions responding to these three prompts, three teams will be chosen as finalists and they will be invited to present their findings and solutions to a panel of judges, comprised of PepsiCo R&D leaders. The winners of the contest will be officially announced at WE17 during Society of Women Engineers’ “Celebrate SWE!” event. This is one of the largest professional development and networking conferences for women pursuing careers in engineering and technology. Over 11,000 women engineers are expected to attend this event.

Winners of this competition will also earn cash prizes, along with the chance to present their submissions in front of the panel of judges. Thanks to The Society of Women Engineers and PepsiCo, thousands of women will have the chance to make strides toward creating a better tomorrow today, while also making advances toward the careers of their dreams.

To learn more about the PepsiCo/SWE Student Engineering Challenge, (rules, deadlines, criteria, etc.), find everything you need to know here.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format