When John and Anita Rossall first heard of the newly launched Engineering Ideas Clinic, the program resonated with them because they believe it is urgently needed in the engineering profession.
John (BASc 1984, Chemical) and Anita (BASc 1984, Civil) are like many other professionals who hire new graduates; they are impressed with the students from Waterloo and other top schools around the world, yet they have observed that the current generation have some knowledge gaps that previous generations of engineers did not. What the Rossalls noticed was that these brilliant young students, completely adept in the digital realm were, in many instances, oddly deficient in some of the “more old school” aspects of the profession.
“Kids don’t have the chance to take things apart or even fix cars in their parents’ garage,” says John, executive director, North America Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc., noting that most household products are thrown away instead of repaired by a curious daughter or son. “These experiences are ways to see, hands on, how the world around us is created, and the very things engineers need to understand - even if they never take another engine apart in their career.”
Enhancing student understanding
Anita says that she and John decided to financially support the Engineering Ideas Clinic at the Builder Gift Level to provide students with more hands-on, real world experience during their academic terms and expose them to the things that enhance their understanding.
“The way the education system and technology have evolved means these bright students graduate from high school with an excellent math, technology and science background,” says Anita, past president and chair for Alberta Science Literacy Association, and now retired. However, many have missed out on crucial experiences invaluable to an engineering student, such as art, woodworking shops and machining classes, or industrial arts and home economics, which imbue practical knowledge of how things are made and simultaneously lets them explore creatively.”
A crucial differentiator
It’s this underlying knowledge of how products are engineered that is the impetus behind the Engineering Ideas Clinic, which will also be the flagship student learning space in the Engineering 7 building, now under construction. In the two-hour classes that extend across all 14 engineering bachelor degree programs, small teams of students will work on activities designed to encourage open-ended exploration, curiosity, team communication, problem solving and tinkering. Here, they will tackle things like reverse-engineering coffee makers or dismantling and reassembling internal combustion engines, allowing them “to get their hands dirty” in the pursuit of knowledge. This clinic-style method is similar to how medicine is taught and gives students an innate understanding that isn’t readily acquired in lectures.
“Co-op experience is, and was always, the big differentiator for Waterloo but this Engineering Ideas Clinic will be another crucial differentiator for students,” says John. “It is foundational engineering -- knowing how something works in real life makes for a better understanding of how to improve or innovate on a design. The Engineering Ideas Clinic will help students become better engineers.”
You can also support the innovative Engineering Ideas Clinic.
We have a range of gifting levels to meet the goals of our donors.
Engineering Ideas Clinic Gift Levels:
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Founders $250,000+
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Builders $100,000 - $249,000
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Makers $50,000 - $99,000
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Team Members $10,000 - $49,000
