Last week CSA Group flew five of our recent Environment and Business program students, Team Aveneer, and advising Adjunct Professor, Lynn Johannson to compete in the CSA Group Academic Challenge as part of their annual conference.
We want to congratulate Team Aveneer on placing as finalists in the competition!
We asked the team what they learned at the conference, and all of them quickly agreed, "networking!" The CSA Group gave the students many opportunities over the course of the conference to meet industry professionals and practice the art of conversation. Anum Khan found the networking a particularly eye opening experience, "I learned that whether you're networking formally or interacting informally in a professional setting, being genuine is important. There's no sense networking for the sake of networking. It's more effective to find common interests and that will naturally carry the conversations."
Shelley Moffat felt that even in that short time during the conference, she grew as a professional. "The experience of the Academic Challenge was inspiring. Working with professors from UW and mentors from the CSA Group provided so many valuable learning experiences. I feel that I have grown as a young professional and am motivated to continue to contribute to standards development in my field of study. Also, to get a taste of what it is like to attend a CSA Group Conference and to meet so many intelligent and engaging professions from a variety of fields who have come together to work on standards development was exciting."
Jin Liu was impressed and thankful for all the support she received throughout the conference from industry professionals. “It was truly an amazing experience for me. There were lots of opportunities for learning and networking throughout the conference. I got to know the exciting projects from other academic challenge finalists and learned more on standards development knowledge through workshops. Moreover, many industrial professionals have shared their stories and advised me on career development, which I am so grateful for. This was definitely a memorable and valuable experience for me.”
Eliz Tuen Muk shared Liu's feelings on the incredible support she felt from people she met. "My experience from the conference was that even shy people like me can network and meet people. Although it was a bit intimidating at first, I was committed to representing the University and my team. I realized that everyone- from the organizers and attendees to our advisors - everyone really wants to help and support you.”
Shradha Singh had the final word: What I learned at this competition is that it is your attitude that matters most. I was so proud of our team. We could have said 'we lost' and felt sorry for ourselves but I feel like we showed great sportsmanship winning as finalists. We were honestly so happy for the winning team. It was such a great opportunity to meet other students and learn about their projects. This experience has just motivated me more to learn about the practical importance of standards."