Aviation course allows multidisciplinary, work-integrated learning to take flight

Students in the University of Waterloo’s Collaborative Aeronautics Program (CAP) are coming together to tackle real-world problems in the field of aeronautics. Industry partners identify the problems and students work in multidisciplinary teams to present viable solutions. Through the process, students gain a quality WIL experience and industry partners gain access to innovative and sustainable ideas.

The interdisciplinary aeronautics project allows master’s and doctoral students to complete two courses and apply their research, that reflects the faculty discipline, to aviation or aerospace. Students earn an enhanced aeronautics extension to their degree when they graduate.

“The dream was always to give grad students, who are passionate about aviation and aerospace, a way to take their discipline and have that skill set translate to work in that field,” says Dr. Suzanne Kearns, associate professor, Aviation, Faculty of Environment and founding director, Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA). "I think with WISA and the CAP that's reality and I think we're achieving that.”

The first CAP course provides a foundation for how aviation works. Throughout the course, students gain an understanding of how different disciplines can apply to aviation or aerospace. In the second CAP course, students collaborate with industry partners in the sector for a WIL opportunity. As part of the curriculum, students consult on aviation or aerospace real-world problems.

“The goal is to take this interdisciplinary group of graduate students from across campus and have them work together as a team, hand in hand with an industry partner,” says Kearns. “We want to show students that the expertise and skills they're building as a grad student can directly relate to real world problems in ways they might not have anticipated.”

Three cohorts of students have now gone through the program, each tackling a different sustainable aeronautics problem.

• The first cohort focused on biometric sensors that could be used as an indication of pilot performance.
• The second cohort worked with virtual reality (VR) with an emphasis on implementing it in pilot training.
• This term’s cohort is working on how to fly aircraft more efficiently and more directly, specifically thinking about how much fuel a flight needs to carry on board.

“All of the industry partners are excited to engage with students; there's a sense of mentorship and support for the students, and a sense of willingness to work with the students where they are,” says Kearns. “The industry partner has a vested interest and a stake in the outcome, but they just maybe don't have the resources to tackle it entirely on their own.”

Carol Bryans is a master’s in Kinesiology student at Waterloo. Her research is primarily focused on the cardiovascular system of astronauts. She relishes the opportunity to work with students from other faculties.

“I'd say it's a very eye-opening experience. I don't often have the opportunity to work with other students or other professionals in other faculties,” says Bryans. “I find working with them has given me a unique perspective on not only the research that I do, but the other kinds of research that is out there, especially relating to aeronautics and aviation. Ultimately, I think it's helping me develop not only as a student, but as a professional.”

There is a close tie-in between Bryans’ research and the aeronautics world. Taking part in the CAP allows her to work closely with an industry partner and presents a new challenge for her.

“I recognize the transferable skills I've developed throughout my master’s and the program. However, the real-world industry problem that we're working on is quite different from the research that I'm currently doing and have experience doing,” says Bryans. “It's made me identify ways that I can expand my existing skill set and branch out from my existing experiences.”

This graduate WIL opportunity is one of the three types of graduate WIL currently happening at the University of Waterloo. By working with an external organization on a course project, the CAP is a course-level WIL and is best described as Community and Industry Research Projects (CIR).

“The grad students are so exciting to work with; they're passionate, they're enthusiastic, and often really excited about the idea that the skills they’re building could really be used in a real problem that impacts people in the world,” says Kearns. “It's a really neat evolution to watch.”