The 10th edition of the “Rube Goldberg” Engineering Competition was launched on September 14, 2026, in the Aula Magna of the Technical University of Moldova (TUM). The event is organized by BEST Chișinău in partnership with TUM and the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

“Rube Goldberg” is a competition that encourages students to combine technical knowledge, creativity, imagination, and team spirit to design and build machines capable of performing a seemingly simple action through a complex chain of reactions. Thus, the competition provides participants with a practical framework for transforming ideas into functional solutions, while fostering creative thinking, experimentation, and perseverance.

The challenge for this year’s edition is to build a machine that, at the end of a full chain of reactions, turns a page of a book. Over the coming weeks, the nine participating teams will progress from initial sketches to the design, construction, and testing phases, until their ideas take the form of functional machines.

This anniversary edition brings together nine teams from eight TUM faculties and academic units, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Department; the Power and Electrical Engineering Department; the Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics Department; the “Bogdan Petriceicu Hașdeu” University Center; the Mechanical, Industrial and Transport Engineering Department; the Urban Planning and Architecture Department; the Design Department; and the Civil Engineering and Geodesy Department.

At the launch event, participants were encouraged to use the most of their knowledge and creativity. In her welcoming remarks, AGEPI representative and jury member Natalia Caisîm congratulated the students on the competing teams and wished them success in executing their projects.

“Building machines like the 'Rube Goldberg' requires not only intellectual and engineering skills but also perseverance, imagination, and a great deal of patience,” noted Natalia Caisîm, emphasizing that such competitions provide students with opportunities to test their skills in a practical, competitive setting.

In the final stage, the projects developed during the competition will turn into a true engineering spectacle. Teams will present their machines to the jury and demonstrate in real-time whether all components, reactions, and technical solutions function according to their original designs.

For AGEPI, involvement in this competition represents an opportunity to strengthen the link between intellectual property, education, creativity, and innovation. As a partner, AGEPI helps disseminate knowledge about intellectual property among the participants and will take part in judging the contest entries.

Now in its 10th edition, the “Rube Goldberg” Competition continues to create a space where students from diverse fields can experiment, collaborate, and transform ideas into concrete solutions. Beyond selecting a winning team, the competition promotes a vital message for future professionals: innovation emerges when technical knowledge is complemented by creativity, perseverance, and the courage to experiment.

The contest will span six weeks, during which participating teams will design, build, and test their machines. The competition final, dedicated to project presentations and judging, is scheduled for October 30, 2026.