Team BioWise Solutions Competes at WEFTEC 2026

It was an exciting week for the winners of the 2026 BCWWA Student Design Competition as they travelled to New Orleans to compete on the international stage at WEFTEC 2026.

Team BioWise Solutions, comprised of Gianmarco Urbano (Team Lead), Prabhkirat Singh, Brian Castillo, Alexander Reis and Benjamin Mendoza from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), represented British Columbia in the Water Environment Design Competition. Competing against top student teams from across North America, they delivered an outstanding performance and earned an impressive second-place finish.

The experience provided the team with an opportunity to showcase their technical expertise, connect with industry professionals and gain valuable exposure to the global water sector.

Here are a few words from team lead Gianmarco Urbano about the team’s experience in New Orleans:

“WEFTEC 2026 in New Orleans was an incredible journey where my team and I had the chance to travel and explore a new city. On our first day, we went on an alligator tour and even tried alligator. It was the perfect warm-up before kicking off the competition as the very first group to present. Presenting first made the rest of the day suspenseful as we watched the other teams, but we were proud of everything we accomplished. Ultimately, we placed 2nd out of 10 teams from across North and Central America!

Following the competition, we attended student-professional mixers, connecting with students from over 30 schools, as well as industry professionals. Attending and competing at WEFTEC opened up numerous job leads across North America and helped us build friendships in the industry. We strongly encourage any student passionate about the water and wastewater industry to participate in this amazing competition hosted by the BCWWA.”

Interested in taking part in BCWWA’s next Student Design Competition? Applications are now open. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your skills, tackle real-world water challenges and compete with the best student teams in the industry.