On 01.07.2016, in the hall of the Academic Council, Prof. Ivan Dimov, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Sasha Bezukhanova, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Prof. Georgi Todorov, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, awarded the high school students who won the competition. The event was attended by the Rectorate leadership, faculty deans, representatives of the Student Council, the competition winners, their parents and friends, representatives of the Board of Trustees and the industry.
"My 3D World" is an annual competition, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, organized by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, for the development of 3D models by students and prospective students. Anyone wishing to participate in the competition develops a 3D model of a chosen object using their favorite software product.
This year, the number of participants is larger compared to the previous one, and the complexity of the presented projects is higher, which confirms the increased interest and popularity of the initiative.
The projects are evaluated by an independent jury: teachers and industry experts. Those scored no less than 80 points have the right to enroll in a major of their choice at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology at TU-Sofia, Bachelor's degree. The evaluation is based on strictly defined criteria: rational and logical construction of the models, minimum number of components with errors during regeneration, correct connections between components, adequate use of the capabilities for creating details in the context of the assembled unit, etc.
In 2016, participants presented models, including a self-designed cruiser engine, V-engine, advertising airship, military ship models, architectural projects, and others. After interviews with the participants and their presentation of the models, the jury determined the winners.
First place was won by Kristian Krasimirov Petrov from Sofia, a student in the 11th grade of SMG "Paisiy Hilendarski". The model presented by him is an extremely detailed modeling of a cruiser-type motor, which the author named 'ForestBear'.
In second place is classified Krasen Rumenov Angelov, a student from 12th grade at Technological College 'Electronic Systems',"to TU - Sofia. He presented a three-dimensional model of an autonomous car based on Renesas MCU Car.
Third place is shared by Viktor Nadkov Hristov, a student from 12th grade at PP by SAG "Kolyo Fitseto", Burgas, who has developed a V-shaped 6-cylinder model of a turbo engine, and Nikolay Mariyanov Marinov, a 12th-grade student at PGU "Elias Canetti", Ruse. His model is a promotional airship that can be used for indoor spaces.
TU - Sofia is the only Bulgarian university that has two secondary vocational schools in its structure and has been actively working for many years to strengthen cooperation between secondary and higher technical education. The "My 3D World" competition is just one of the initiatives such as "Laboratory of Ideas", "The Power of Engineering Knowledge", etc.
Due to the growing interest from high school students, we hope that the "My 3D World" competition will become a tradition and attract even more leading companies in the field of CAD/CAM/CAE to support it.
The opinion of the participants from the first edition is that this is an interesting and fun challenge, in which they participated with pleasure, and some of them participated with new models in 2016 as well.
