Inspiring Future Leaders: First-Year Engineering Students from Across Ontario Flock to Lakehead U for Three-Day Conference
(February 5, 2010 - Thunder Bay, ON) From February 5 - 7, Lakehead University's Engineering Students
Society (ESS) is pleased to host the First-Year Integration Conference,
which is expected to attract approximately 70 first-year engineering
delegates from Ontario universities.
As Fiifi Markin, engineering student and VP External for the ESS notes, "This event provides unique networking and leadership opportunities to
students in engineering." Markin adds this is the first year the
conference has been held at Lakehead University, and the event line-up
offers dynamic speakers from the field, interesting tours, and fun
social events and activities.
The tour portion of the conference takes place on Saturday, February 6,
and offers attendees the chance to learn about Lakehead University's
involvement in the Steel Bridge and Formula-1 SAE Race Car
competitions, held nationally, as well as the University's Virtual
Reality Laboratory and Powerhouse. Having the Powerhouse as part of
the tour will showcase some of Lakehead's newest energy conservation
initiatives, including new boilers which were recently changed from
steam to boiling water, the power grid, and the power holding station.
Among other expert speakers, Nicole Maillette Seller, Lakehead alumna
and Project Engineer at Bombardier Transportation in Thunder Bay, will
provide a company overview of Bombardier while highlighting the work
undertaken at the Thunder Bay plant and the role(s) engineers play
there. Joining Nicole is her co-worker, Mike Kowal, Olympic Torch
Bearer in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in December 2009. Nicole and Mike will
present the Olympic torch, which was developed by Bombardier. It will
be taken apart for engineering students to see, and Nicole will share
information about the design and development processes of the torch and
what they entailed.
An interactive session will place before the conference wraps up,
during which teams comprising engineering students from different
universities will work together to combine their skills and knowledge
in building and programming robots.
Lakehead's Faculty of Engineering offers unique engineering programs in
Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Software Engineering.
Lakehead has the only Faculty of Engineering in Canada where, after
completing high school, you can earn a Bachelor of Engineering Degree
and an Engineering Technology Diploma in four years. The Faculty also
offers post-diploma engineering degree programs in Chemical, Civil,
Electrical, Mechanical, and Software Engineering designed specifically
for graduate engineering technologists.
Lakehead has made a name for itself in the national Steel Bridge
competition, in which civil engineering team members have consistently
performed well, placing 10th in 2001, second in 2002, fifth in 2003 and
2006, fourth in 2007, and third in 2009. Lakehead's is the only
Canadian team to place in the top five overall since the inception of
the competition.
For more information about Lakehead University's Faculty of
Engineering, Steel Bridge team, or Formula-1 SAE Race Car, please visit
the Faculty of Engineering website.
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Media: Mr. Fiifi Markin is available for interview. Please contact him directly at 807-343-8804, 807-343-8888 ext. 5970, or fmarkin@lakeheadu.ca.
About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca