The objective of technical competitions is to introduce students to real-world engineering situations and to teach students project-management and fabrication techniques used in industry.
Aesthetic competitions usually require art and design skills.
Both students and industry benefit from intercollegiate design competitions.
Each competition allows students to apply the theories and information they have learning in the class room to real situations.
Today, almost every field of engineering has several design competitions, which have extended from college down into high school (e.g., FIRST Robotics) and even younger grades (e.g., FIRST Lego League).