DOORS OPEN: Hundreds of undergraduate engineering students investigated the opportunities offered by graduate degree programs during the Faculty of Engineering's annual Graduate research Showcase.
(Edmonton) The faculty's second annual Graduate Research Showcase kicked off with a day of lab tours and concluded with an evening networking session focused on the possibilities of high-level research and the advantages of graduate studies. Hundreds of students took part.
They gained access to some of the best research labs and facilities in the country, and met researchers and graduate students in engineering labs and at the U of A's nanoFAB facility.
Some of the students attending the evening presentation and networking session were already interested in graduate studies, others weren't as sure.
Third-year engineering physics student Anton Sura has been strongly considering a graduate degree to improve his career options. He spent the summer working as an engineering co-op student in the research lab of electrical and computer engineering professor Karthik Shankar. He said it was a rewarding way to test the waters.
"I don't think it's the field I'll work in but it was a great way to find out what research life is like," he said. "In the long term, my career is going to require a master's degree at least."
Computer engineering student Jordan Lane, who's currently working as a co-op student in mechanical engineering professor Jason Carey's lab, said he's enjoying the experience and doesn't want to rule out the possibility of taking on an advanced degree one day.
"I'm getting a very high-level view of what graduate students do. Like me, a lot of them didn't anticipate that they'd end up working on graduate degrees," said Lane. "Most of them figured they'd finish their engineering degree and get a job. You definitely get more academic experience-you're more knowledgeable if you take a graduate degree."
For computer engineering student Mark Griffith, the appeal of graduate studies is the fact that students work with a group of talented people who can support and mentor them.
"I like to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am," said Griffiths, who's interested in the field of machine learning. "I'm still learning where I'm going with my studies. It would be nice to work with someone who has a lot of experience in a field who can mentor me and help me shape where I want to go next."
That kind of guidance and support is exactly what mechanical engineering master's student Brian Yang says is the best feature of a graduate degree. He addressed students at the networking event, explaining the opportunities graduate studies bring.
Yang is gaining valuable knowledge and technical engineering skills while working on nanocomposite materials with mechanical engineering professor Pierre Mertiny. But he says the non-technical skills he's developing are extremely valuable.
He says graduate studies bring benefits the workplace can't. Industry, he observes, is profit-driven. But "a university exists to educate you. This is development-professional development."
When you're working in industry and have a new idea you want to try, the company is only going to let you pursue that if it's in the company's best interest, Yang says. "As a graduate student, the opportunities you are provided are the ones you choose," he says. "The network of people I've developed because of my master's degree has allowed me to come up with an idea for a company and, as a graduate student, I can pursue it."
Yang dismisses the myth that graduate studies are too challenging for many people. "If you can survive as an undergraduate, with the right mentor you can thrive in graduate school."