Engineers welcome 'fabulous' program

Nov 7, 2002 | Mississauga Business Times | Karen Bridson-Boyczuk

Danny Veneziano doesn't appear to look as though he'll be graduating from university, but he'll be doing just that in the spring of 2003. Danny, who works for Daimler Chrysler as the Manager of Process Reliability Engineering, took part in the ADMI program offered to career professionals already working in their chosen field. Four universities offer the program: U of T, Mac, Waterloo and Western. When Danny dons his mortarboard in the spring he'll have a Masters of Engineering.         Being an engineer today is not what it used to be. That's according to Danny Veneziano, process reliability engineering manager for Daimler Chrysler Canada in Brampton. Gone are the days when the engineers in a firm were isolated from the business dealings of the company, he says. "Today, the engineer has to have a much broader spectrum of knowledge," said the Brampton resident. "They have to be aware not only of the processes, design, materials, but also the cost of each one of those things." That's part of why Veneziano decided to enroll in a new, cutting-edge Masters of Engineering program being offered by the new Mississauga-based Advanced Design and Manufacturing Institute. Focused on mechanical engineering, the program brings together professors from five Ontario universities to teach a curriculum combining new technologies with business skills needed in today's economy. David Heaslip, executive director of the Institute, said the manufacturing industry has noted a need for more engineers who have business skills in addition to strong knowledge of the field itself. "Many engineers, when the are finished their undergraduate training, are not necessarily prepared for what they are asked to do by their companies," said Heaslip. "There is a higher need for good skills, business skills and evolving skills in the new technologies. This program is designed to address some of these issues." While the Institute will accept someone right out of an undergraduate degree program, Heaslip said it's preferable that they have some experience in the industry. Most students in the program have between five and 10 years in the business under their belts, he said. Part of what makes this program different than an ordinary M. Eng. program offered directly through a university is that ADMI acts like a virtual company under which all of the teaching partners can come together, Heaslip said. The program is presented through a partnership of the University of Toronto, McMaster University, the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario. Queen's University is currently in process of coming on board. As well, a key ADMI partner is Materials & Manufacturing Ontario, one of four Ontario Centres of Excellence supported by industry and the provincial government. "This is a very unusual situation with all of these universities coming together like this," he said. The ADMI program was kicked off March 2001 with its first course, called Design for Manufacturability, led by the University of Western Ontario. The Institute now offers 25 courses taught by leading professors from the partner universities and now boasts over 120 students. "The people in the program love it," said Heaslip. "And the program is very, very flexible, so they can take all of the courses that are suitable to their own interests." Heaslip said the part-time program is designed specifically for engineers working in the field. "It's presented in a modular format, allowing students to more easily fit the classes into their schedules," he said. Most classes are held in the HATCH Corporate Learning Centre of HATCH Consulting Engineers or the Sheridan Park Conference Conference, both located in the Sheridan Science and Technology Park. Veneziano said he's currently completed 75 per cent of the program and is very impressed. "It's an absolutely fabulous program," he said. "It gives us the opportunity to review new technological advances while including an aspect of the business world." The program has also offered a tremendous opportunity for participants to network with each other, he said. "To physically be able to call someone that you know knows about something is absolutely fantastic," he said. In order to complete the degree, participants must complete ten full courses, each of which are presented in two, four-day modules from Thursday through Sunday. The amount of time it takes to complete the degree depends entirely upon how fast the students which to proceed, Heaslip said. There are usually four to six week breaks between each module, he said. "This is perfect for people working in the industry," he said. "It doesn't really effect their work." Each class is made up of about 20 students, giving them the chance to network and learn from others in various sectors of the engineering world. "The interface and mixing that goes on between the engineers is almost as valuable as the content of the courses," said Heaslip. The courses are broken into two streams: technology and processes and business management. Each graduate must take five courses from the technology stream and two courses from the business stream, making up the balance of 10 courses however they choose. Examples of the technical stream courses include Intelligent Manufacturing, Material Selection and Ergonomic Design. The business stream includes courses such as Organizational Behavior, Intelligent Business and Strategic Management of Technology. "Virtually everything is being offered," said Heaslip. Those in the industry directed the push for business courses, he said. "Engineering used to be segregated," said Heaslip. "The days are gone when the engineers used to work on their own down the hall. These days you really need the technology side of business to interface with the business side." Marketing skills, international business knowledge and organizational skills are among the areas engineers must be familiar with these days, he said. Having these skills has also become integral to engineers moving up in a company, Heaslip said. Bob Manavi, a senior design engineer with Mississauga's Pratt and Whitney Canada, said while the program has been challenging, he's had no trouble fitting it into his life. "I was looking for a way to further my education and this is exactly the kind of program you can do while working," he said. "It's got a good mix of analytical and practical and is better in many ways than the regular university Masters programs." Calling the program 'a good fit for me,' Manavi said his company has been very supportive of his decision to go back to school. "One of the big drivers for my company are things like cost and timing and scheduling," he said. "I think this will definitely give me opportunities to move up in my field." While many universities 'tend to teach you from the same textbooks year after year,' Manavi said this program offers a much more up-to-date, 'real time' experience. Already the ADMI program has developed a strong reputation in the industry, Veneziano said. "Companies are seeing the advantage of this because people are coming back to work with a wider knowledge," he said. To date, there has been one graduate, with most others online to graduate after an average of two and a half years. The ideas for the program was born about four years ago when the University of Toronto and other engineering universities began dialogue with those in the industry, Heaslip said. To qualify for the program, prospective participants must have an undergraduate engineering degree with at least a B average and have some degree of experience in the industry. Each course costs $2,500, plus small course materials fees. For more information, call ADMI at 905-855-9787 or go to www.admicanada.com BACK TO NEWS