Waterloo’s IISE delegation travelled to Trois-Rivières, Quebec, for the 2026 IISE conference hosted by the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Held from January 30 to February 2, the conference brought together nearly 300 students from nine universities in Eastern Canada for competitions, industry networking, talks and workshops.
Waterloo finished 4th overall, led by a 1st-place finish in the Industry Challenge. The delegation also placed 4th in Simulation, 5th in the Theoretical Exam and 4th in Budding Genius, the general-knowledge competition.
The conference put a wide range of engineering skills to the test. Saturday’s programme included a technical paper presentation, a four-hour theoretical exam covering industrial engineering coursework, a real-world case study and a simulation with an industry partner. Sports, video games and general-knowledge challenges rounded out the competition programme.
The weekend also gave delegates time to connect beyond the competitions. Friday evening opened with industry networking, while Sunday’s talks and workshops covered career experiences, advice from professionals and emerging technologies, including exoskeletons. The conference closed its Sunday programme with a banquet celebrating the delegations’ results.
Thank you to UQTR and the organizing team for hosting, and to everyone who represented Waterloo. We’re proud to bring home an Industry Challenge win and a 4th-place overall finish.
