Each year since 2007, the steel bridge building competition “Design and Construct” is organized by the Construction Club of Boğaziçi University and is open to the undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in civil engineering and architecture programmes in Turkey and abroad. The competition provides an opportunity for students to have a comprehensive hands-on practice of the steel design process from conceptual design to fabrication and assembly in a team setting. Another important aspect of the competition is that it provides to present their work to a jury of steel design professionals and to other teams from various countries and universities. This paper presents the experience of Department of Civil Engineering of Istanbul Kültür University who participated at the competition every year with a number of teams since 2007 and outlines the benefits and opportunities of this hands on learning opportunity for students.