Two Cullen College of Engineering students participated in the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Industrial Student Automation Club (IASC-SAIT) International Student Games last month, with one student bringing home a bronze medal for their team’s performance.
Computer Engineering Technology undergraduate Laura Tolley and Electrical and Power Engineering Technology undergraduate Kim Anh Nguyen, who secured the bronze medal, were randomly assigned to teams of visiting students from around the world to participate in the largest student-led industrial automation games in the world.
These games are planned, organized, led and executed by a dedicated student board of directors with the support of faculty volunteers, and local second-year instrumentation students from the MacPhail School of Energy are paired with each team individually to prevent what they call “home ice advantage.”
“I became involved a bit last-minute since a friend of mine couldn’t go and asked me to go in her place,” said Nguyen. “The overall experience was a fun learning opportunity because I went into this event not knowing a lot about industrial automation. It had some similarities to my degree when it came to PLCs like the SCADAPack Data Dungeon and using ladder logic.
“The most challenging part was trying to figure out where I could help since I had no experience or knowledge in automation. All I could do was ask my teammates where they needed help and help as needed.”
Nguyen was “shocked” at the outcome.
“Our goal was naturally to win, but we thought there were other qualifying teams above ours, so we didn’t think that we would place. When our team was called, we were shocked and we all laughed. It was fun, and nice to know that our push to win was for something.”
Tolley, on the other hand, felt right at home.
“I was first introduced to the International Student Games through my professors, Dr. Moges and Dr. Yuan, who encouraged me to participate as a way to expand my technical skillset beyond the classroom,” she said. “What I enjoyed the most about the experience was the structure of the event itself: each station required us to quickly analyze unfamiliar systems, ranging from process control loop tuning to SCADA communication chains, and make decisions under time constraints.”
“It was not just about knowing theory, but about applying it in real time,” Tolley added. “I especially enjoyed the hands-on troubleshooting aspect, where we had to isolate issues step-by-step across hardware, communication links, and control logic of each of the 6 system types. The most challenging part was adapting quickly between completely different domains. One moment we were tuning a PID loop on a tank system, and the next we were configuring wireless communication between a transmitter, RTU and PC. Each task required a different mindset, and success depended on how efficiently we could break down the system and identify the failures before rebuilding it up again.
“Overall, the experience reinforced the importance of structured problem-solving, teamwork, and clear communication under pressure. This was both frustrating and rewarding as my teammates and I had fun while stressing together in a race with the other teams.”
She also noted that participation in events like the International Student Games “provides students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge in environments that closely reflect real-world engineering systems.”
“Rather than working through isolated problems, we were required to interact with complete systems ranging from process control loops to communication networks while making decisions under time constraints. This reinforces not only technical understanding, but also structured problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability. Ultimately, these experiences strengthen the connection between academic learning and real-world engineering practice, while showcasing the capability and potential of the students representing the institution.”