News

Unique collaboration between UVIC and Camosun trains students for engineering competitions

Author and photo credit:

Stephanie Willerth, University of Victoria
willerth@uvic.ca

The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Victoria serves as the home for a number of student design teams, such as the UVic Submarine Club, UVic Formula Motorsport and UVic Rocketry, who compete in international competitions based on their skill in engineering design and fabrication. These competitions require the fabrication of complex designs often requiring a significant hands-on skill. This year Camosun College provided support in the form of a 10-session welding course taken by interested UVic Engineering students who wanted to learn how to weld. Olaf Nielsen, the Chair of Trades Development and Special Projects at Camosun College, was eager to help when Dr. Stephanie Willerth, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and faculty advisor to the UVic Formula Motorsport team, inquired about the possibility of holding a welding course for engineering students at the University of Victoria. The Continuing Education and Contract Training department at Camosun College, made the arrangements, including finding an instructor for the course and scheduling the sessions. The course was partially subsidized by the Faculty of Engineering, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Department of Electrical Engineering as an investment in the success of our University of Victoria student teams. All of 11 of the UVic students finished the course and they received their certificates of completion on November 25th. Blake Sigwin, the team leader of UVic Formula Motorsport and current University of Victoria Electrical Engineering undergraduate, commented that “The skills we learned in the course will be invaluable as we construct our newly designed frame for the UV20 racecar in the upcoming months”. This successful collaboration shows one of the unique ways that Camosun College and the University of Victoria can partner together when training the next generation of engineers.