EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
Capstone
The Capstone Engineering Design course is a supervised design, simulation or experimental project involving the definition of a design problem, carrying out the research and design, and demonstrating results. Solving real industrial problems is encouraged. Past projects included mechanical engineering students building a heart simulator (international patent filed); industrial engineering students developing an algorithm to reduce flight cancellations at the Trudeau airport, (reported in Montreal Gazette); and civil engineering students constructing a building from start to finish. Ricky Gioia, a technical officer and structural engineering design supervisor, says, “Students are often humbled by the experience. They see first-hand all of the work and decisions that go into large-scale construction projects."
Work-integrated learning
Along with Seattle and Toulouse, the Greater Montreal region is home to one of the world's leading aerospace hubs and has the second-largest density of aerospace jobs in the world. The Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design & Innovation (CIADI) promotes awareness and provides leading edge know-how among engineering students engaged in aerospace.
Through internships, organized visits, tours, special training courses, innovative education programs, and increased community engagement, including the engagement of student groups and societies and curriculum expansion through partner collaboration, CIADI students gain valuable experiential learning opportunities that better prepare them for success in the fast paced globally competitive aerospace sector.
Geo-environmental sustainability
Research-based learning
Dr. Catherine Mulligan, Professor and Concordia Research Chair in Geo-environmental Sustainability, leads the Concordia Institute of Water, Energy and Sustainable Systems, where students conduct research on the development of treatment technologies for the protection of the environment with minimal energy requirements or energy production. A technology for removing metals from contaminated soils, harbour sediments and mining residues includes green chemicals that are of low toxicity, biodegradable and produced from waste materials. In addition, lakes with too many nutrients and minerals are a major issue; in collaboration with local residents, efforts are underway to reduce nutrients in Laurentian lakes.
Student life learning
The Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science boasts a number of student societies that work on projects that apply theory in practice, often designed for competitions. The teamwork experience in these groups is typically unforgettable, not to mention the many prizes that Concordia students win! UAV Concordia (unmanned aerial vehicles) is dedicated to designing, building and outfitting drones, from making them fly to giving them specified functionality, and offers students a chance to gain hands-on experience in the area of flight control. Software Engineering and Computer Science Society is an academically driven society focused on programming, and offers a wide variety of events aimed at equipping students with tools to reach their academic and professional goals.
