Twelve teams from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were given the same task, the same parts, and only a few hours to design and build a bridge that could unfold from one bank, fold up on the other side, and still let a remote-controlled car pass over it. The students from Gymnázium Matyáše Lercha in Brno handled the challenge best.
In the strojLAB workshop where the competition took place, everything could be seen: quick sketches on napkins, last-minute concept changes, laser cutting and 3D printing in action — and above all, great teamwork. It was like a hackathon in practice — limited resources, limited time, and maximum focus.
And the results? Technically smart, creative, and sometimes surprisingly elegant. The trio of students from Gymnázium Matyáše Lercha built a structure that unfolded and re-folded most quickly over a gap 420 mm wide, allowing their remote-controlled car to pass.
“The winning team demonstrated great precision and meticulous work. I was impressed by how systematically they approached the task and continually tested their design. The clamps they 3D-printed to secure the structure helped stabilize their mechanism,” explained the main organizer and project lead of strojLAB, David Škaroupka from FSI.
As a result, the students won the main prize for their school in the form of a 3D printer, which was donated to the competition by Honeywell. At the opening of the event, Tomáš Szaszi, Senior Director of Technology and Strategy at Honeywell Aerospace, introduced the students to the concept of Design Thinking. This approach can help address a wide range of challenges, not only in engineering.
“In aviation, we often deal with an equation where time and resources are the unknowns, yet the outcome must be flawless functionality. The hackathon format prepares students perfectly for this reality. We are pleased that, on behalf of Honeywell Aerospace, we can be part of this and support young talent,” said Tomáš Szaszi.
This view is also shared by competition mentor and doctoral student at the Institute of Machine Design, Petr Křivohlavý. “In the strojLAB Challenge, it’s not about winning, but primarily about the process of tackling the challenge. The competitors learn the assignment only on site and have just a few hours to complete it. It is an opportunity to test teamwork, engineering skills, creativity, the ability to work under pressure, and personal resilience. In the end, everyone was eager to see the solutions devised by the other teams and expressed mutual appreciation,” Křivohlavý described the atmosphere.
“In the strojLAB Challenge, it’s not about victory as much as about the process of overcoming the challenge. Participants only learn the task on the spot and have only a few hours to complete it. It’s an opportunity to experience teamwork, engineering skills, creativity, pressure situations, and personal resilience. At the end, everyone was excited to see the solutions other teams came up with and expressed mutual respect,” said Petr Křivohlavý, mentor of the competition from the Department of Design.
International Project and Partner Support
The competition was held as part of the international DiSTT project, funded by the Interreg Central Europe programme. The event took place under the auspices of the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology, and one of its partners was Honeywell, which provided the main prize for the competition.