In fact, the Cardinal was a participant in an AIAA design contest, so carefully designed
and checked by a jury, but not really intended to be a project, but maybe a stepping stone
for the designers into aviation industry.
The AIAA student design competitions are a great way for engineering students to get some experience in design. Sometimes, it's the only way too.
All too often, the curricula are overloaded to the point that for the vast majority of aerospace engineers, graduating in four years is a joke. Design classes are usually the first ones to be removed, because you can't get rid of the basics like thermodynamics, the math, the physics, controls, and aerodynamics.
AIAA has undergaduate team aircraft, spacecraft, and engine design competitions, individual aircraft design, graduate aircraft design, and the Design / Build/Fly competitions. I've done a bunch of those in the time i was in school, and they were great experiences. Some of my friends got jobs at the Skunkworks, Phantomworks, Scaled, and Northrop as a direct result of having been involved in these projects.
By the way, the winner for the COD competition was an even more unconventional stopped rotor/convertiplane designed by CalPoly students.