Next Generation of Maritime Leaders and Workforce Show Innovation and Engineering Design Skills at ODU Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) Second Annual Digital Ship Challenge
The Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) hosted the Second Annual Digital Ship Challenge on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Over 75 Hampton Roads high school students participated in the challenge where teams were tasked with designing and building an innovative support vessel that can maintain stability at sea. Students utilize engineering design, innovation, ship design and construction, research and statistics to build their vessels to be tested against real-world situations.
As this was the second year of the competition, Challenge organizers took lessons learned from last year to help shape what the competition would look like for this year.
“After observing issues with vessel stability in last year’s competition, we made that the focus of this year’s challenge. We wanted students to focus on what makes ships stable and understand this basic principle. This led the students to research different hull designs and the math and science behind ship design, forging a real-world connection between science, math, technology, and engineering,” said Jennifer Renne, Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) Curriculum Coordinator and Digital Ship Challenge Director.
The Digital Ship Challenge is the only true maritime competition in Hampton Roads that links schools and industry together.
“We can pair the students with industry mentors to not only help with their ideas, but to introduce them to the companies they work for, their background, and opportunities that exist in their backyard. We want to expose the students to what maritime is in the Hampton Roads and help create the pipeline from education to the maritime industry,” Renne added.
21 student teams, led by their teachers and mentored by local maritime industry representatives, worked for months to design, build, test and present innovative solutions to today’s maritime challenges. After a series of tests and challenges throughout the day, including a presentation and demo of their vessels, the top three teams were awarded prizes – gift cards, medals, and trophies.
The winners were:
1st place – Team Wet Socks from Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach
2nd place – Team IED #2 from Grassfield STEM Academy in Chesapeake
3rd place – Team Catalypso from Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach
“The Digital Ship Challenge has been one of the most impactful hands-on design and construction projects my students have experienced,” said Jim Reich, Engineering Design/Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering teacher for Advanced Technology Center. “In this year’s challenge, we were tasked with designing a ship that meets specific guidelines, which include creating preliminary drawings, maintaining a design history notebook, prototyping, and building. By the end of the project, every participant gains a deeper understanding of the challenges involved in designing and constructing ocean-going ships for commercial purposes. It is truly a transformative experience for students that bridges classroom learning with real-world engineering.”
During the Challenge, students also got the chance to engage with maritime industry leaders, exploring potential careers, internships, and future job opportunities in the field.
“This competition is an incredible opportunity for students in Hampton Roads to apply engineering and maritime concepts in a real-world setting,” said RADM Mark Whitney, USN, ret., Executive Director of the Virginia Digital Marine Center. “These students are our future maritime workforce, and by engaging in hands-on problem-solving alongside industry mentors, they are gaining invaluable experience and critical skills that will help shape the next generation of maritime professionals.”
