BEYOND THE BOOKS: Symposium more than bridge-building, concrete canoes for South Dakota's future engineers
Hands-on competitions at South Dakota Mines highlight engineering talent — and the work it takes to bring them together
RAPID CITY — Long before a single concrete canoe hits the water, the real test for a group of South Dakota Mines students has been learning how to build something far less visible — a regional engineering competition from the ground up.
For nearly two years, a student-led team has been juggling classes, internships and campus life while quietly coordinating an event that will draw more than 250 students and faculty from 11 universities later this month.
But the 2026 American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Student Symposium, which the campus will host April 23–25, not only uses concrete canoe races and a towering steel bridge competition to test their skills, the Mines students have also gotten a years-long crash course in project management, problem-solving and leadership.
