Waterloo Engineering's student design centre was named the Sedra Student Design Centre at a ceremony held October 18.The 20,000-square-foot Sedra Student Design Centre is the largest facility of its kind in North America. It is home to more than 20 teams of students, who compete internationally and work on design projects including a new Formula One car, an autonomous robot, a flying quadrotor and a hybrid vehicle.
“The Sedra Student Design Centre is a home for student driven innovation,” said Pearl Sullivan, dean of engineering at Waterloo. “Like our co-op program, which is the largest co-op education program in the world, the Sedra Student Design Centre has become a model for experiential learning. At least two other similar centres have emerged in Canada since the Sedra Centre opened.”
The Sedra Student Design Centre also plays an important role in fostering entrepreneurship, the hallmark of Waterloo Engineering education.
Matt Stevens, CEO and founder of CrossChasm, a company that develops next generation vehicles, completed both his undergraduate degree and Ph.D in engineering at the University of Waterloo and was heavily involved in international competition with the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT).
“CrossChasm exists because of UWAFT”, says Stevens. “Combining uWaterloo's academics with the coop program and the student team experience generates an entrepreneurial trifecta, giving students the technical fundamentals, business exposure, and real-world experience to launch successful start-ups. [news release]