Last week, Kirti Saxena (MechE 2T2+PEY) represented Canada at the 2022 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. The event marked Saxena’s return to competitive wrestling after sustaining a serious injury to her lower body earlier this year. 

“Six months ago, I wasn’t physically or mentally in the game — I was in so much pain,” Saxena says.  “There were some people who said I wouldn’t be able to walk all summer, and most of the statistics out there backed up that opinion, but I wanted to create my own odds.”  

 While on her commute from the University of Toronto to her training gym in April 2022, the train she was on pulled to a stop and a fellow passenger accidentally spilled hot tea all over her lap. By the time Saxena arrived at her destination and was able to assess her injuries she was suffering from second and third degree burns on her lower body.  

Unable to walk, sit or even lie down without experiencing severe pain, Saxena had to take time to recuperate and postpone both her final exams and training for the wrestling World Championships.  

“All I could do was take it day by day, which as an engineering student who likes to do things quickly and efficiently was a real struggle,” she says. “I had to slow right down and start from scratch.” 

That meant celebrating the small achievements, like when Saxena was able to stand up or take a few steps, and just keep going.   

As Saxena slowly gained back her skin’s elasticity and the ability to move comfortably, she made her return to the mat. To secure her spot at the 2022 U23 World Championships she needed to compete in two international tournaments during the summer. With weeks of intense training and laser-focus, Saxena achieved her goal. 

Saxena managed to come back from her injury and is currently ranked #1 in Canada in the U23 Division in Women’s Wrestling at 57kg.  

“I’m so grateful to be going to the World Championships,” she says. “It took a lot of work, determination and perseverance and I am proud to be able to compete.” 

Saxena’s parents were her biggest cheerleaders during her recovery and rehabilitation. Her father, who was an Olympic wrestler and owns his own high-performance wrestling club in Mississauga, introduced Saxena to the sport. Her natural talent led her to placing first in Canada in her division in ninth grade — from then on, she embraced the sport and placed fifth in the world the following year. 

As she continued her wrestling journey, placing in national and world championships, and participating in the 2020 Olympic trials, Saxena also began her post-secondary career as an undergraduate engineering student at U of T.  

“I’ve always been drawn to design and academically strong in sciences, combining these two things led me directly to mechanical engineering and it’s a natural fit for me,” she says. “It can be challenging, but as I am in my final year now, I can say with certainty this was the right path for me.”  

During her time at U of T Engineering, Saxena has taken on many leadership roles including being the project manager of the University of Toronto Robotics Association (UTRA) design team, a Varsity board representative and the captain of the Varsity wrestling team. 

“I’ve always been a very determined person and those two things working together — passion and determination — help me to achieve my goals,” she says.  

“Don’t let other people’s opinions limit you. It’s OK to struggle. Embrace the challenge, reach out when you need help and create your own story.”  

-Published October 24, 2022 by Lynsey Mellon

The United States is the world’s most expensive country to give birth. Yet, its maternal mortality rate was the highest compared to other wealthy nations, with 23.8 deaths per 100,000 births in 2020.

Professor Myrtede Alfred (MIE), has dedicated her career to integrating equity in patient safety efforts in maternal care.

Now, she is conducting new research to further understand the disproportionate rates of racial and ethnic maternal health disparities in the U.S.

“In the U.S., maternal health disparities have been recorded for more than 80 years. We know that a lot of maternal deaths are preventable. This suggests that there are issues within the clinical system,” Alfred says.

“How we deliver care contributes to these outcomes and the disparities in these outcomes.”

Alfred’s current research starts with a year-long study examining maternal health disparities in one large health system in South Carolina. With sights on expanding to other health systems, the goal of the project is to identify systems issues that contribute to adverse maternal outcomes and disparities. These findings will support quality improvement and equity efforts and help create safer clinical systems.

Alfred utilizes human factors engineering approaches in her research, which explores the relationship between people and systems. Human factors engineering considers aspects like human behaviour and capabilities to ensure systems run safely. It also considers how system design impacts efficiency, productivity, and equity.

“Part of what we do as human factors practitioners and researchers is investigate systems to understand how certain events or harms impact some populations more than others,” Alfred says.

“We do this through direct observation in clinical environments and by interviewing staff and patients in clinical systems, and couple that with what we already know about how clinicians make treatment decisions.”

Incident safety reports disregard race, lack robust data

One of the study’s key findings shows that patient safety incident reports typically do not have fields for race or ethnicity. It also lacks other demographic factors.

To link existing data to race and ethnicity, Alfred and her team input data to a clinical data warehouse — a tool that consolidates data from various clinical sources. Results show that differences in the type of maternal care received — such as the type of anesthesia provided, cesarean rates, fall prevention and diagnostic errors — impact non-Hispanic Black (NHB) populations more  than others.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that in the U.S., 80 per cent of all maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity are considered preventable, according to data focused on 2017 to 2019 from the Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs). A journal article co-authored by Alfred, also notes that NHB and Indigenous mothers are two to three times more likely to die during or after childbirth, compared to non-Hispanic white patients.

Alfred says that available existing data in South Carolina focuses on the population level, which means that individual hospitals may not know the extent of disparities at their institution, and the data that is available is not granular enough.

Her study will largely focus on disaggregating the data by race/ethnicity to determine where disparities exist.

A team of student researchers in her lab are developing a machine learning algorithm to improve coding of adverse events and utilizing process mining approaches to help identify pathways associated with adverse outcomes. Meanwhile, a research collaborator at University of Texas, San Antonio, with a background in demography, will also conduct geographic information system analysis to understand how different outcomes are spread across South Carolina.

As current data about patient safety is also rarely connected with race and ethnicity in Canada, a recent NSERC Discovery Grant will help Alfred conduct an additional research project in Canada to help find the answers.

“Absence of pathology does not mean a positive experience or that damage hasn’t been caused,” Alfred says.

“We first have to redesign systems before we start to make them more resilient, particularly if the systems are currently designed in a way that is performing disproportionately for certain populations.”

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Black Research Network News Site on October 19, 2022 by Tina Adamopoulos

When Mahmoud Rashid (Year 1 MSE) learned that he was selected as a Pearson Scholar, the experience was extraordinary, he says.  

“When I got the letter, it was like the whole world stopped,” Rashid says. “I found out during the month of Ramadan — I am a Muslim, and I prayed every day for this. I knew I was capable and that I can influence other people to create positive change. But having others see that in me made me feel so happy.” 

 Rashid is one of four Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship recipients who arrived in Toronto this summer to join U of T Engineering. 

 Named after Canada’s 14th prime minister, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and U of T graduate Lester Bowles Pearson, the Pearson Scholarships recognize exceptional academic achievement, creativity, leadership potential and community involvement among international students. The award covers tuition, books and incidental fees for four years. 

 The 2022 Pearson Scholars spoke with writer Safa Jinje about what led them to U of T, their experiences in Toronto so far, and their hopes for the future. 

Mayra Alicia Castilla Cobo (Year 1 EngSci) 

Castilla grew up in a tight-knit community, spending her entire education — from kindergarten to high school — at the same school. It was after participating in the Math Olympiad in Grade 7 that she discovered her passion for sciences. 

“I wanted to have a meaningful impact on my community, and I decided that an engineering approach, with a mix of applied sciences, is the best way to do so,” Castilla says. 

Since moving to Toronto from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Castilla has enjoyed walking around the city: exploring without direction to discover interesting places — such as little cafes with cute aesthetics — and make herself more comfortable in her new home away from home.  

“What I like about U of T Engineering is that it’s not competitive. People are always collaborating, and if you have questions, you can ask other students and study together.”  

Castilla is excited to be a part of the EngSci program because it allows her to combine two of her passions, engineering and medicine, through a rigorous academic experience. She already knows she wants to major in Biomedical Systems Engineering, and she says that becoming a Pearson Scholar was a “dream come true.”   

“I am more than sure that this scholarship will let me be my best version academically and integrally, providing me the chances of cultural, intellectual and professional experiences.” 

Boran Ocak (Year 1 IndE) 

Boran chose U of T Engineering because they wanted to study in a diverse environment to learn more from fellow future engineers from different backgrounds. 

In high school, Boran was able to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives through technology and engineering activities. They especially enjoyed studying Robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and were part of a robotics team whose motto was: “What does technology cater for unless it contributes to lives?” 

 “I was able to learn transferable and technical skills such as computer-aided design and team management,” says Boran 

Since arriving from Türkiye, they have enjoyed the vibrancy of Toronto, from Orientation Week to watching creative drag performances, to trying international cuisines with new friends from all over the world.   

By studying industrial engineering, Boran hopes to learn how to coordinate engineering teams while creating new technologies to alter the lives of millions. 

“In the next few years, I am planning to create more chances for underrepresented groups with my career-management startup and increase trans visibility in engineering fields thanks to the Pearson Scholarship,” they say. 

Dayoung Nam (Year 1 EngSci) 

Nam, who was born in South Korea, has spent most of her life living in Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. Since arriving in Toronto, she says she has already fallen in love with the city’s cooler weather and its diverse and inclusive community.   

“Living abroad in countries with wide wealth gaps, the painfully unequal opportunities in our society struck me from a young age,” she says.  

“Since then, the driving force of my academic pursuits has been the desire to use science and technology to create efficient working solutions for a more equal world.” 

Nam was attracted to U of T Engineering because of the Professional Experience Year Co-op Program. She also loves that as an EngSci student, she will get to explore her broad interests and discover her passions before choosing a major at the end of second year.  

Nam’s advice for students studying abroad: “Finding a good community really changes the university experience. I am very grateful to find a solid supportive friend group I feel safe in. I would recommend not being afraid to reach out to new people and open mindedly face a new environment!” 

Mahmoud Rashid (Year 1 MSE) 

Rashid moved from a rural part of Tanzania to its largest city, Dar es Salaam, when he started high school. The experience made him more globally conscious and driven to make positive change — and that’s when he realized he wanted to study engineering. 

“I knew that I wanted to take action to address pressing global issues, but I also wanted to build on my love for the sciences and mathematics.” 

Rashid has navigated challenges during the transition to post-secondary life: he has had to learn how to manage his time differently and become comfortable with not always knowing the answers right away.  

“I am learning from these experiences, and I know it will get better,” he says.  

“When you have different people coming together from different places with different experiences, we share, discuss and learn from each other, and that’s a beautiful thing.” 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on October 20, 2022 by Safa Jinje

From the Women in Robotics website:

Our Women in Robotics list turns 10 this year and we are delighted to introduce you to another amazing “50 women in robotics you need to know about” as we also celebrate Ada Lovelace Day. We have now profiled more than 300 women AND non-binary people making important contributions to robotics since the list began in 2013. This year our 50 come from robotics companies (small and large), self-driving car companies, governments, research organizations and the media. The list covers the globe, with the chosen ones having nationalities from the EU, UK, USA, Australia, China, Turkey, India and Kenya. A number of women come from influential companies that are household names such as NASA, ABB, GE, Toyota and the Wall Street Journal. As the number of women on the list grows so does the combined global impact of their efforts, increasing the visibility of women in the field who may otherwise go unrecognized. We publish this list to overcome the unconscious perception that women aren’t making significant contributions. We encourage you to use our lists to help find women for keynotes, panels, interviews and to cite their work and include them in curricula.

The role models these 50 women represent are diverse, ranging from emeritus to early career stage. Role models are important. Countess Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer and an extraordinary mathematician, faced an uphill battle in the days when women were not encouraged to pursue a career in science. Fast forward 200 years and there are still not enough women in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM). One key reason is clear: the lack of visible female role models and so we continue to run our women in robotics photo challenge, to showcase real women building real robots. Women in STEM need to be equally represented at conferences, keynotes, magazine covers, or stories about technology. Although this is starting to change, the change is not happening quickly enough. You can help. Spread the word and use this resource to inspire others to consider a career in robotics. As you will see there are many different ways the women we profile are making a difference.

Goldie Nejat,Professor and Canada Research Chair in Robots for Society
University of Toronto

Goldie Nejat is the Canada Research Chair in Robots for Society, a Full Professor at the U of Toronto, and an Adjunct Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Inst. She is the Founder and Director of the Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Lab.

The open research facility at U of T’s Mechanical Engineering Building is an expansion of the partnership between the University and the National Research Council of Canada.

Following the launch of the Device Foundry in November 2021, the Centre for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies (CRAFT) has opened a new and expanded Tissue Foundry at the University of Toronto.

CRAFT, a U of T Institutional Strategic Initiative and collaborative research centre formed in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) will operate the open research facility at U of T’s Mechanical Engineering Building.

The Tissue Foundry offers a wide range of instruments to allow microfluidics researchers to complete the preclinical assessment of their devices, culture and image tissues for their research, and print physiologically relevant 3D structures using biomaterials and cells. NRC Technical Officers at CRAFT support the Foundry and train students who would like to use the equipment for their research projects.

“The expanded Tissue Foundry provides new equipment and expert technical staff to advance research in new and exciting directions,” says Professor Axel Guenther (MIE, BME), CRAFT Co-Director.

“CRAFT makes every effort to ensure affordable and efficient access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert training for all interested research labs and their trainees. We are grateful to our CRAFT colleagues leading infrastructure initiatives and the support received from the Canada Foundation of Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the NRC.”

The new instruments include a biomechanical tester for obtaining mechanical properties of biological materials and a light sheet microscope for enhanced optical sectioning and 3D biological imaging. These instruments were contributed by the Ontario-Québec Center for Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering, led by Professor Milica Radisic (BME, ChemE), CRAFT Co-Lead.

“This equipment will enable organ-on-chip researchers to perform increasingly automated drug screens and at a higher-throughput on 10+ human tissue models at a time, significantly accelerating drug discovery and development efforts,” says Radisic.

The increased capacity and new equipment will help to fuel more bioengineering innovations at the University, including those emanating from the six projects funded by CRAFT in 2021.

Sushant Singh (MIE), a second-year PhD candidate in the Guenther Lab, is creating novel bioinks that are compatible with the lab’s handheld 3D skin printer to treat full-thickness skin burns.

“The facilities at CRAFT are integral to my research,” says Singh. “The Device Foundry allows us to develop and fabricate microfluidic devices that can produce large quantities of bioink needed to optimize bioprinting conditions. And the Tissue Foundry provides the equipment necessary to culture bioprinted tissues and later analyze them with a variety of instruments, such as the atomic force microscope, confocal microscope and rheometer.”

Singh hopes to commercialize his research by spinning out a company, which is an important milestone before the 3D skin printer and new bioink can be used widely in hospitals as a treatment for large skin burns. CRAFT facilities and resources are helping Singh work towards both milestones.

–Published on October 6, 2022 by Lynsey Mellon and Carrie-Lynn Keiski

Peter Serles (MIE PhD candidate) dreams of becoming a professor — but he knows that to get there, he’s going to have to do more than just publish papers.

“As a prof, there are so many different skill sets you need,” he says.

“You need to be able to lead teams and build collaborations, whether that’s managing your own lab group or working with external partners. You also have a duty to clearly communicate your findings, and to make sure they are having a positive impact across the society you serve.”

Serles is one of 15 students selected from across U of T for the new Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship Program, facilitated by the Centre for Graduate Professional Development within U of T’s School of Graduate Studies.

The new Fellows receive additional funding to support activities such as conferences, courses or workshops that enhance their professional development. They also get access to networking and mentorship opportunities with other fellows, public figures, public and private institutions, and the media.

As the only member of the inaugural cohort to hail from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Serles is excited for the opportunity to work with scholars outside his discipline.

“I think that the most interesting research happens when you can go beyond the bounds of your own field,” he says. “When you can leverage what you know with complementary expertise, you can spark new ideas and address really complex challenges that cut across many sectors and wouldn’t be possible for either researcher individually.”

For his PhD thesis — supported by an NSERC Vanier Scholarship — Serles is researching nanoscale 3D printing in order to capitalize on the unusual mechanical and electrical properties that appear at the nanoscale for full-scale device design. He recently printed The CNano Tower, which is a scaled down version of this Toronto icon that is invisible to the naked eye.

Serles aims to use nano-3D printing to design high strength-to-weight materials for the aerospace sector, ultra-impact resistant materials for use in the field of defence, and 3D shapes that mimic the human body to help grow stem cells.

Outside the lab, Serles has a lifelong interest in leadership, starting from his experiences heading up engineering design teams and sports teams during his undergraduate degree studies. At U of T, he has honed his teaching skills by serving as a course instructor for a second-year mechanical engineering design course, and by volunteering with the Engineering Outreach office. In 2019, he created a series of hands-on activities designed to help teach STEM concepts such as advanced manufacturing to an audience of elementary school students.

Serles is a Junior Fellow of Massey College, and has served on the Faculty Council for engineering as well as on the Graduate Student Advisory Committee, which provides advice and recommendations to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

He has also been active with the Canadian Science Policy Centre, helping organize the organization’s annual conference as well as serving as editor for The Canadian Science Policy Magazine. He is also an associate editor for the Journal of Science Policy and Governance.

Over the next few months, Serles expects that the Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship Program will connect him to role models that can help him better develop all the components that go into a successful career as an academic in the public interest.

“No two people ever end up in academia quite the same way,” he says. “There’s no set path, but by learning how other people have done it, or the moments and opportunities that turned out to be critical for them, I’m hoping to gain some insight that will serve me well — and hopefully, one day I’ll get to pass that knowledge down to the next generation.”

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on September 21, 2022 by Tyler Irving

Professor David Sinton (MIE) has been elected a 2022 fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). The RSC’s mission is to advance knowledge, encourage integrated interdisciplinary understanding and address issues that are critical to Canada and Canadians. Fellowship in the RSC is one of the highest honours a Canadian scholar can achieve. 

Sinton is a leading expert in the area of microfluidics for energy applications. Prior to his work, microfluidics — the study and application of fluids at the microscale — had primarily been applied in health care. By applying microfluidics to water transport, he developed a new class of microfluidic fuel cells with record performance. Sinton is also known for recognizing the potential for microfluidics to improve methods for storing carbon dioxide underground; he led a nationwide research effort resulting in significant advances in carbon sequestration methods.   

In more recent work, Sinton, in partnership with Professor Ted Sargent (ECE), has focused on converting CO2 into renewable products. In 2020, the research group were finalists in the $20 million global NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE Competition. The team developed an innovative method to leverage electrochemistry to convert carbon into economically valuable products. The project included a demonstration-scale facility built at a scale 1,000 times larger than conventional units, and the technology is currently being commercialized through the startup CERT Systems Inc.  

A related technology recently won an award from the XPRIZE Carbon Removal, including $250,000 in seed funding provided by the Musk Foundation. 

Sinton is co-founder and CTO of Interface Fluidics Ltd., a startup focused on improving the environmental and economic performance of energy operations. He has held several leadership roles, including interim vice-dean, research at U of T Engineering and editor-in-chief of the CSME Bulletin, the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering’s flagship publication. He currently serves as academic lead for U of T’s Climate Positive Energy Initiative which seeks to harness the University’s expertise to develop clean-energy solutions.  

Sinton is a fellow of CSME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Engineering Institute of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellow and was elected to the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2015. He is currently the Canada Research Chair in Microfluidics and Energy. 

“Professor Sinton’s groundbreaking work in microfluidics for energy applications has moved us closer to the goal of net-zero energy generation, especially for industrial processes,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty, my warmest congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.” 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on September 6, 2022 by Carolyn Farrell

Roger Carrick (MIE, EngSci) joins U of T Engineering as an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream (Conditional) in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, cross-appointed in the Division of Engineering Science. He served as the Designer-in-Residence in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University for five years. Roger received the President’s University-Wide Teaching Award at York University in 2020.

Writer Lynsey Mellon talked with Carrick to learn more about his approach to teaching engineering and why he thinks design is the core of the discipline.

What attracted you to U of T Engineering?

The engineering programs at the University of Toronto have an outstanding reputation as pioneers in Engineering Education. I have had the opportunity to meet many faculty members at conferences and I was always impressed by the teaching community at U of T, which brings together subject matter experts from engineering, ethics, leadership, teamwork and communication. Additionally, U of T draws students from around the world, leading to a diverse community with unique perspectives.

Which courses are you looking forward to teaching and why?

I’m looking forward to teaching the Praxis courses in the Division of Engineering Science. Cornerstone design courses like Praxis are students’ first exposure to engineering practice.  They allow them to explore the design process, examine the relationship between engineers and society, and reflect on their personal perspectives, goals, and motivations as student engineers. My experience with the Praxis courses left me impressed with the teaching team’s dedication and the students’ competence and drive.

How would you describe your teaching philosophy and what do you hope students will take away from your classes?

My teaching philosophy begins with the belief that design is the core of engineering practice and the conduit through which engineers affect change in the world. Science and technology give us the tools, or how, to affect change, while design explores the question of why or should we?

When students see the world around them as a designed space, they can begin to understand the connections between design decisions and their impact on people and the environment. Giving students authentic experiences through team-based projects allows them to explore the many facets of design and build competencies in teamwork and communication.

What goals do you hope to achieve over the next few years?

I’d like to continue to build upon the success of the Praxis courses.  I want to work to strengthen the connections with other design-related courses to ensure there is continuity and reinforcement of the Praxis concepts throughout the curriculum.  I would also like to explore new ways of evaluating and reporting student learning; a numerical grade gives very little information about the actual learning outcomes from a course, and I think we can expand evaluation criteria beyond that.

Any advice to share with students?

Remember that you are a person first, and a student second.  That means that you need to take care of yourself physically and mentally before you can focus on your studies.  Take a break when you need to or reach out to someone you see struggling.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I’m a maker at heart. Whether it is woodworking, 3D printing, electronics, or home renovation, the satisfaction of creating something with my own hands is one of my greatest joys. I also enjoy hiking through backcountry trails, reading sci-fi and fantasy classics, watching the latest shounen battle anime or listening to the latest history/technology/design podcast.

-Published August 29, 2022 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca

Get ready for back to Skule by getting to know the Mech and Indy Club chairs for the 2022-2023 academic year! Sydney Anonuevo (IndE 2T2+PEY) and Minnie Menezes (MechE 2T2) share what they hope to achieve in Mech and Indy Clubs, their advice for first year students, and what they are most looking forward to this year.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you are studying at MIE.

Sydney: I’m a Indy 2T2 + PEY and I’ve just finished my Co-Op at TC Energy in Calgary and am entering my final year of my undergraduate studies focusing on operations research (OR) and information systems (IS). Working at TC Energy was a great experience, I enjoyed the work I was doing and it was a great opportunity to explore a new city too. Along with my focus on OR and IS, I am pursuing the Engineering Business Minor and Leadership Certificate as they both align with my career path.

Minnie: I’m a Mech 2T2 and I’m actually entering my fifth year at MIE. I opted to spread my studies out over five full-time years, so that I could take additional classes and allow for some more time for extracurriculars. I’ve completed two minors and two certificates and still had the time to participate in CUBE (Club for Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering), NeuroTech, and Mech Club. During my undergrad, I pursued the Bioengineering and Mechatronics Streams and I’m planning on continuing my studies in graduate school next year.

How did you decide to get involved with Indy and Mech Club?

Sydney: I’ve always been heavily involved in volunteer work, throughout high school I volunteered with an organization that was similar to Indy Club. At U of T, I volunteered with FROSH week for two years and have acted as Social Director for two years with the Engineering Society. It’s part of my nature to want to give back to my community and help to build a welcoming atmosphere. I’m really glad to be acting as Indy Club Chair this year so I can be a part of building a fun university life for our students.

Minnie: I first got involved with Mech Club as the Second Year Representative and it was a great experience. I love helping out my peers, so the role gave me the perfect way to connect with more students and expand my reach. I like representing my peers and helping to make their MIE experience a positive one, especially during hard times, such as during the pandemic. I was the class rep again in Third Year and realized I had lots of ideas for further developing Mech Club, so I ran for Chair. This will be my second year as Mech Club Chair and I think it’s a fantastic way to get involved with the community.

What are you excited to achieve as Chair?

Sydney: The last two years have been tough for many people with a lot of our time being spent online and a limit to the amount of in-person activities we could do. I’m most excited for being able to revive in-person connections through Indy Club. We’re planning to implement more events throughout the year to give students a chance to get together and take a step back from academics. I’m looking forward to building our campus community and welcoming everyone back to Skule!

Minnie: We were technically already back in person last year, but everything was still very cautious, for good reason. This year, I’m really looking forward to creating more in-person points of connection for students through Mech Club events. We’re planning to have regularly scheduled events like movie nights throughout the semester, as well as larger ones such as the Ski Trip and the Engineering “Mechlympics” competition. I am also really excited to help plan the MIE Dinner Dance and rebuild our Mentorship program now that we’re getting comfortable back in person.

Bring yourself back to first year – what advice do you have for our new students?

Sydney: The most impactful advice I received when starting my first year was don’t compare yourself to everyone else. Your new classmates all come from different backgrounds with different experiences and you might not be the top of your class as you were in high school – and that’s okay! You belong here. Make sure you have a good balance between your studies and extracurriculars. Spend time doing things that make you happy to help avoid burnout.

Minnie: Take a break! Starting university can be overwhelming and sometimes it can feel like it’s always “go, go, go”. Schedule breaks to spend time with friends and step away from your studies. Use the small moments like walking between classes as an opportunity to connect and relax. It takes practice and some trial and error to learn good time management and what study skills work best for you, but once you master these it will become easier.

What are you most excited about in the 2022/2023 academic year?

Sydney: There are some courses I’m really looking forward to, one on scheduling which will help me formalize some of the skills I developed during my PEY this summer and Professor Carter’s Healthcare Systems course. I’m also excited for working with my team on our Capstone program – we’ve already selected a topic and I’m looking forward to getting started.

Outside of the academics, I can’t wait for the MIE Dinner Dance and of course all of the graduation celebrations!

Minnie: I’m taking some really interesting courses this year, mainly mechatronics, which I’m very excited about. Since I have more space for electives, I’m also taking a Neural Bioelectricity course and one in Machine Learning, which will give me an opportunity to explore topics outside of my chosen streams. I completed the BME Capstone project last year so I am also looking forward to having more time to be involved with CUBE and Mech Club.

Of course, I’m really looking forward to Iron Ring too and I’m so excited that we will be able to have the ceremonies and celebrate in person this year.

Anything else you want to add?

Sydney: Indy Club is here to help you! We are here to make your voices heard and act as the liaison between students, faculty, and department staff. We can help you find resources and get to know your peers. Reach out to us through email or on Instagram (make sure you’re following us: @indyclubuoft) to connect.

Minnie: I want to remind students that everyone is on their own unique path. You’ve made it into an amazing program at a great university and it’s up to you where you want to go from here – and there are lots of supports to help you achieve those goals. We can help you connect with resources and offer support; all you have to do is ask. Follow @mechclub on Instagram or send us an email to get in touch.

-Published September 1, 2022 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca