Engineering a new perspective in Canada
For Chemical Engineering master’s student, Dhruvil Gajera, working in Canada offered more than an opportunity to develop his technical skills. It introduced him to a new workplace culture and a different side of the engineering industry in a new country.
Over an eight month co-op, Dhruvil experienced a collaborative and supportive work environment while learning the importance of communication, networking and relationship-building in project management. By stepping outside his comfort zone, Dhruvil discovered that successful engineering involves more than technical expertise. It also requires understanding people, working across teams and being open to new perspectives.
Dhruvil's co-op journey
Project Engineer, Mondelēz International, Toronto, Ontario
As part of the corporate project engineering team, Dhruvil supported automation and capital projects across five Canadian manufacturing sites. His responsibilities included developing automation ideas, monitoring project progress, contributing to engineering dashboards and coordinating with teams across multiple sites.
Q&A with Dhruvil
What stood out to you about Canada’s workplace culture?
"This was my first time working in Canadian culture and I felt a huge difference. Everyone was so welcoming, very humble, without work pressure and always positive."
"To boost your morale, they will verbally appreciate you, and if you face difficulty, they'll always be flexible to take out their own time to help you out."
How did working in project engineering change your perspective on the importance of collaboration?
"Project engineering gave me a completely different view. When I was working as a process engineer, I used to misunderstand the perspective of the project engineering teams. But when I worked for a project engineering team, I was able to understand their side."
"That was the reason I wanted to work outside of my field and outside of the role that I already had, because I hoped that it would help me to get a new perspective, like how this team works and how they plan the execution of projects."
What inspired you to pursue a co-op position outside your previous area of engineering?
"I thought let's give this a chance. We have just one co-op left. Let's try something new and out-of-the-box, learn something new in a different industry and different role.”
“I wanted to try something new that I never could do again and never did again."
What advice would you give students about stepping outside their comfort zones and connecting with others?
"For every co-op student, explore as much as you can. Reach out to many people and never hesitate to connect, even if that person is not in your department."
"In eight months, I had reached out to more than 200 people. I still remember I received so many calls. People from different sites came to meet me when I was in the final days of my co-op."
"Always try to learn and have an open mindset. Don’t just settle with the perspective of one team. Talk with individuals from other areas and feel free to gain the perspectives of even senior persons, because everyone has their own story and experience. It helps a lot to do this, rather than just working with your own set of ideas."
How did your classroom learning prepare you for the responsibilities of project management?
"Process optimization was one of the courses that helped me with my work in project management. Along with the project management course and supply chain course."
"The terminologies or the fundamentals of project management helped in advance. Business entrepreneurship courses helped me because I never worked in supply chain industries or the project management role before this."
What's next for you?
"What’s next is working in Canadian industries to develop my own skills and meet new teams. I always like meeting new people, working with new people and gaining new exposures. So what I personally feel is I'll try something new again."