Chance encounter with a U of A engineering professor transforms the life, and prospects, of Islamabad-based engineer-in-training Riaz Muhammad (‘07 MBA and ‘01 MSc)

Riaz Muhammad (photo supplied)

When Riaz Muhammad travelled to Edmonton from his native Pakistan for a three month training program under the Canadian Oil & Gas Program (funded by Natural Resources Canada), he had no idea that a life changing experience awaited him. 

As a young engineer-in-training at Attock Refinery Ltd. in Islamabad, Riaz had entertained the possibility of advancing his education, and eventually, his career. Hearing good things about the engineering program at the University of Alberta, a chance encounter with Tongwen Chen — a professor in electrical and computer engineering who coincidentally was also looking to fund a graduate student with industry experience — convinced Riaz that he could realize his dreams at the U of A.  

With a dual background as both an engineer and a MBA, Riaz is in high demand in the industry, including ATCO Energy Solutions, where he currently works as Director, Engineering and Technical Services.

His gratitude to the U of A, and the opportunities it afforded him as an international student, is profound. 

“Two moments of pride for me were the two convocation days when I was awarded my degrees,” he says. “I married my lovely wife Jabeen just before my engineering convocation and she joined me from Pakistan to attend that memorable moment. That day, I told her that joining the U of A was my second best decision after choosing her as my life partner.”

What are your key takeaways from your educational experience at the U of A?

 First of all, the reason for me to be in Canada started with my admission to the University of Alberta. I found the U of A at par with other top institutions around the world. It is well respected within the industry in Canada and is a good place to start before joining the workforce. 

During my time at U of A, I learned the art of learning, boosted my confidence to take on new challenges and improved my analytical and problem solving skills. My co-supervisors, professors Tongwen Chen and Horacio Marquez provided me with the opportunity to learn research skills, combine them with the practical knowledge I gained in the industry, and solve key practical problems faced by the industry. Both Dr. Chen and Dr. Marquez were very personable and friendly, but at the same time tough and candid when it came to achieving our research objectives and timelines. Since I came back to school from the industry, I enjoyed the practical research work, specially, applying new control algorithms to process models in simulation environments and seeing them working as predicted by our newly developed theory.

How do your MBA and engineering degrees compliment each other, and how did they set you up for success?

The MBA program improved my thinking and broadened my horizon beyond technical issues. Since my program was concentrated on energy economics, I was able to learn how the energy industry makes money, the business challenges it faces and the opportunities it offers. For engineers who would like to pursue their career in leadership or consulting, increased exposure to accounting, finance, marketing and leadership is highly recommended. The MBA provided me with the skills and knowledge that aided me performing my roles effectively and efficiently in various departments of the organizations I have worked with. A good example is supervising the business planning and cost accounting team for two years — quite a rare opportunity for engineers.        

Why did you choose the U of A Engineering program?

I came to Edmonton from Pakistan to attend a three months training program under the Canadian Oil & Gas Program funded by Natural Resources Canada. I was working as a young engineer-in-training at Attock Refinery Ltd. in Islamabad at the time. When I arrived in Edmonton, I heard good things about U of A from the alumni that I met during my stay in Edmonton and Calgary. The common theme was the U of A’s excellent quality of education and the job opportunities for their graduates within the energy sector. I decided to explore the possibility of graduate studies by visiting the faculty. By chance and or by sheer luck, I met Dr. Chen in his office. It was a coincidence that he was looking for a graduate student with some industry experience and offering full funding to the prospective student, and I was looking to pursue my advanced studies but had no money to fund my education. Dr. Chan was able to arrange funding through NSERC and Syncrude Canada (now part of Suncor) that helped me in realizing my dreams. This was the time when the oil sands sector was about to pick up steam and was desperately looking for top talent to fuel their growth. It was a three-way win: a win for me, the U of A and Syncrude.  

Where were you born and raised and when did you come to Canada? 

I was born and raised in Pakistan. I did my schooling in the capital city Islamabad and completed my undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. I joined Attock Refinery Limited as Engineer-in-Training and worked with them for two years. That is when I had a chance to come to Canada for three month training in Edmonton and Calgary.    

What are you doing now?

I have worked for Syncrude Canada for approximately 13 years in various technical, business and leadership roles contributing to oilsands exponential growth. At one time, I led the startup and commissioning of a portion of the $8.7B upgrader expansion project. Then I moved to Calgary and worked with TC Energy for approximately seven years in various leadership roles in engineering, maintenance and operations. This was a high time for the pipeline industry where I helped in building, maintaining and operating some of the large liquid and gas pipeline systems in North America. My last portfolio at TC was leading TC Energy Turbomachinery Maintenance Program — one of the largest fleets in North America. After that, I spent two years with IBM as a senior industry consultant helping their clients in technology transformation and digitization. Currently, I am working as a senior leader (Director, Technical Services) with ATCO Energy Solutions — a subsidiary of ATCO Corporation that is leading ATCO’s efforts in energy transformation and clean fuels.     

What would like a prospective student considering the U of A Engineering (and business) program to know?

1. Never underestimate the power of knowledge and skills no matter how irrelevant they seem at the time. Someone, at some given time is going to look for it and will open new doors for you. You just need to be ready for it to reap the benefits. Almost all the roles I was selected for by my current or previous employers valued my dual background and most likely preferred me over other candidates of similar calibre and exposure. Specifically for leadership positions, breadth over depth is preferred and an MBA with engineering background differentiates you among the pack.
   
   
2.  Even if one does not get any direct monetary benefit or a career boost from the MBA program, the learning, the confidence and the exposure itself set you up for success in your technical and professional roles. After all, technical experts are also leaders in their disciplines and acquiring soft skills makes their life easier in communicating with the non-technical or less technical peers.    

What is your favourite experience about your time at the U of A?

Other than learning, I made a lot of friends who are very successful in their careers. A few of my classmates and roommates are now professors in universities across the globe, others are senior leaders in the energy sector across North America. I still remember the moments of mixed feeling, fun and stress at the same time. At the HUB and the Student Union Building I remember my time with my friends, complaining about Dr. Sirish’s tough assignments while planning for a party at the weekend.  

I owned one pillow, one chair and a borrowed mattress when I graduated from U of A. Thanks to the U of A and Alberta energy sector, now I am financially independent and a role model for my two kids. The two moments of pride for me were the two convocation days when I was awarded my degrees. I remember, I married my lovely wife Jabeen just before my engineering convocation and she joined me from Pakistan to attend that memorable moment. That day, I told her that joining the U of A was my second best decision after choosing her as my life partner.

What does giving back mean to you?

Giving back is making a similar difference as others did make in my life. I have recently committed to a recurring bursary with the name “Riaz Family Bursary” for the next five years for the qualified under privileged students studying in the Faculty of Engineering. This is just a small start to my bigger goal of contributing towards our next generations.