Biosystems capstone

ENG 1430 – Introduction to Engineering Design, is a foundational first-year engineering course that features an innovative approach to teaching and learning. It brings new engineering students together to complete projects and provide a hands-on, collaborative experience in the engineering design process. Students explore the engineering profession through practical projects, teamwork and the application of the engineering design process.

Electronic and Computer Engineering capstone students

Dr. Natasha Jacobson, who instructs the course, has recently introduced a real-world approach to teaching the design process. Historically, the course involved various projects focused on different engineering skills and departments, such as creating rubber band cars or Rube Goldberg machines. Now, the course focuses on having student teams thoroughly develop projects from conceptualization to final prototyping, while also consulting with a client for certain requirements. These projects are then highlighted through a final showcase with guest judges from industry, the faculty, upper-year students and their peers. The winning team even walks away with a cash prize sponsored by Friends of Engineering, a group of passionate industry members who provide sponsorship and opportunities to students at the Price Faculty of Engineering. This event provides students with the opportunity to see what their peers have created and to network with industry professionals. Successful projects may also be implemented in real life; for example, a previous section of this course designed and built small-scale automatic watering systems for the Sustainability in Action Facility at the University of Manitoba.

Civil capstone students

ENG 1430 acts as ‘training wheels’ for the final year capstone course, which is required by every department. In the departments of Civil, Biosystems and Mechanical engineering, students partner with industry to solve a relevant problem. In the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, some students still partner with industry, though it isn’t required, and students have the freedom to pursue a different project that they are passionate about. At the end of the term the students showcase their projects with posters, prototypes and presentations to industry members, faculty and peers. Successful projects are also implemented in the real world, and there are several sponsored awards and prizes for the teams in each department.

The value of these real-world assignments is monumental. Students learn both hard and soft skills through these courses, from teamwork and communication to technical skills and project management. They also gain a deep understanding of professionalism and ethics, preparing them for the challenges and responsibilities of an engineering career. By engaging in open-ended design problems and applying principles of safety and sustainability, students learn to navigate the complexities of real-world engineering projects.

Electrical and Computer Engineering capstone student

Allison Balasko, Hiwot Jonk, Jesse Shen, Joao Fidencio da Silva, Samuel Akinola chose Siloam Mission after visiting the shelter. They were struck by the staff and volunteers’ unwavering commitment to people experiencing homelessness. The group wanted to raise awareness about the shelter but also address the critical shortage of undergarments and socks.

The Underwearness Project was born. They have received approximately 250 pairs of underwear, 500 pairs of socks, and $365 in monetary donations. They are gearing up for a second donation drive.

When: Sunday, August 27th from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Where: Superstore (3193 Portage Ave.)

Additionally, the group will have drop-off spot at the UMSU Service Centre (1st Floor University Centre) starting on Monday, Aug. 28-Sept. 15, 2023.

Siloam Mission will also gladly accept donations every weekday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at 300 Princess St. 

Even if they reach their goal, the group says the project is intended to be a long-lasting campaign that will continue to address this need for several years.

There is also a plan to create a newsletter that Winnipeggers can subscribe to so they can receive a yearly reminder about the campaign.

This January, Asper teams competed in seven business competitions across North America and placed in five. Our students worked hard this month, whether they were competing for the very first time or earning milestone victories after years of practice. From family enterprise to futsal, our teams tackled a range of challenges together.

Case competitions allow students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world business problems as they prepare to enter the rapidly changing business landscape as innovators and leaders. Dr. Bruno Silvestre, Dean of the I. H. Asper School of Business, also emphasizes the social value of these competitions: “These events foster important community-building and networking opportunities for students and instill in them a keen appreciation for teamwork.”

These teams would not be complete without the faculty advisors, coaches and volunteers who support them in the months of preparation preceding the competition and during finals weekends. The Asper team demonstrated their dedication to student success, even supporting multiple student teams at three different competitions during a packed weekend.

Judy Jayasuriya [BComm(Hons.)/10, MBA/14], Lead of Experiential Learning at Asper, also received recognition for her contributions to the case competition experience and was awarded the J. Pierre Brunet Coach Award at the John Molson International Case Competition. Jayasuriya is the first Asper coach to receive this award.

John Molson MBA International Case Competition (ICC) – January 1-6

MBA students Jordi Johnson, Chelsea Kokan, Bobby Currie, Laura Effinger and Anna Gilfillan represented Asper at the John Molson School of Business as “181 Consulting.” Tackling a wide range of strategy cases, from pharmaceuticals to eco-friendly cleaning products, 181 Consulting advanced to the semifinals with the highest score after the divisional round.

At this premier international competition, Asper students stood out with their superior presentations, excellent question periods and the depth of their analysis. Although they did not progress to the finals, the impression they left with judges, spectators and other coaches speaks to their talent and dedication.

2023 MBA Games – January 6-8

Combining academic, athletic and spirit events, the MBA Games welcomes graduate business students to raise awareness and funds for charity while competing to bring the 2024 games to their school.

Team Asper, led by Team Captain Mbetini Ekpo and Team Leads Anna Gilfillan and Sheena Gee, showed that business education extends beyond the academic. The team showed their prowess in athletics, placing second in the category and securing a first-place finish in futsal. Their footwork in the finals against Telfer led them to a 1-0 victory in the football-based game.

Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC) – January 11-14

Wrapping up this month’s Stu Clark Graduate School success, Daniel Kokan, Elliot Codispodi, Lianne Huberdeau and Kaushal Patel brought home the first international graduate case competition win for Asper. Huberdeau was also awarded best graduate presenter during the final round of competition.

Hosted by the Grossman School of Business, the SG-FECC featured 19 teams from 12 countries. Four rounds of competition tested participants’ ability to solve complex issues unique to family enterprise.

With steep competition in the finals, the team devised a strategic solution that built upon their first case on the Cartoni family, owners of Antigal Wine. They presented a united strategy for market expansion that stunned the judges and led them to the top of the podium.

Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) – January 13-15

Asper Bachelor of Commerce students prepared for months before they tackled a written case in the first round of the ICBC. Three teams advanced to compete in the finals: Darbara Kaushal and Benjamin Swistun (Accounting), Kenny May and Carl Joseph Ortega (Marketing), and Parth Taneja, Vincent Cheng and Mickael Gier (Business Policy). For many of these finalists, ICBC was their first ever case competition.

After the individual competition streams, the teams worked together in the Creative Case Challenge and finished in first place with their two-minute pitch recommending a strategy for marketing psychedelics for mental health treatment. With their impressive performance at one of the oldest case competitions in the world, these students represent the promising talent at Asper.

JDC West – January 13-15

Undergraduate success continued with Team Toba at JDC West. Led by Team Captains Anna Kowalchuk and Tanner Chwartacki, Asper students put forth a strong showing in a number of categories.

Dalton Reidke, Braden Hargreaves and Joshua Carpenter won first place in Operations Management; Graeme Taylor, Riley Kotzer and Gustavo Quadros won first place in Accounting; Marissa Troia, MacKenzie F., Peter Hanna and Eric Bao took home second in Debate; and Evan Adair, Pablo Mejia, Madeline Boonstra and Maisy Do took home second in Challenge.

First-time JDC West participant Marissa Troia was grateful for the chance to compete on Team Toba. “The Asper experience truly lives in the connections you build with other students while challenging yourself to reach new feats through participating in competitions,” said Troia. To students considering their first competition, she offers the following advice: “Asper is a safe place to try new things and explore. Take the leap and do it!”

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The theme of JDC West 2023, “Triumph through Perseverance,” marks a fitting conclusion to our case competition wrap up. January brought many firsts: first competitions, first wins and even first disappointments. Behind every milestone victory is a journey of learning opportunities the take place both on and off the podium.

To the students celebrating their victories, thank you for your perseverance. To those participating for the first time, congratulations on this first step. To those yet to compete, we look forward to celebrating you soon.

For more information about how to participate in case competitions please visit student experience or contact Judy Jayasuriya, Lead of Experiential Learning, at Judy [dot] Jayasuriya [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.

“It’s never too late!” Sean Gallop wrote above his graduation photo in a social-media post that would go viral.

He’d just finished law school at the age of 49, decades after he dropped out of high school to work at Pizza Hut. One of the guys he worked with back then was among more than a million people who viewed Gallop’s LinkedIn post. He got a congratulatory message from him — one of thousands from all over the world. Many wanted to know: how did he do it?

“I said, well, just make a plan,” Gallop says in an interview. “If you want to do something, make a plan, start researching and then follow through on your plan.”

It sounds straightforward, but it wasn’t easy. By the time Gallop decided to study law, he’d battled drug addiction, been homeless on the streets of Winnipeg, attempted suicide, and, yes, needed a lawyer. But when he graduated this spring as the oldest student at University of Manitoba’s Robson Hall and began articling at Legal Aid Manitoba, Gallop was fulfilling a teenage dream. He’d wanted to be a lawyer since he was in high school, before he became homeless for the first time as a teen.

“I’d like people to think to themselves that if they had a vision or a dream or an idea or something that they wanted to do, it was given to them for a reason, and it is possible and they can achieve it,” he says. In other words: don’t give up.

“Because, quite frankly, I gave up a long time ago on this, and then it came back around again, and here I am.”

Read the full story at the Winnipeg Free Press.

A fixture on the Dean’s Honour List and winner of multiple prizes for top marks in classes ranging from Family Law to Tax Law and Advocacy, Sandhu was recently interviewed by guest host Marjorie Dowhos on CBC’s The Weekend Morning Show (Manitoba) with Nadia Kidwai, about how she got this big chance.

As she explains to Dowhos, while attending law school, she took a course with Professor Jennifer Schulz on the Law and Pop Culture in which, she says, “we became aware that positive female relationships between legal professionals are very rarely seen in pop culture. And this annoyed me as someone who has gone through law school and who is now a lawyer, some of my greatest mentors and supporters have been females.”

Sandhu was inspired to change this representation, asking Schulz if she could write a screenplay for her course assignment to achieve this goal. Fully expecting Schulz to say no, Sandhu was surprised that she did allow her to write it. Sandhu was also required to write the term paper as well, “but that’s beside the point,” she laughs.

Upon hearing the news about Sandhu’s success with the Netflix-Banff initiative, Schulz said, “Anjali was an incredible law student; she received one of only four As I gave that year. Her great work ethic and terrific writing skills were on display in my Law and Pop Culture course, where she completed extra, unrequired work, and wrote one of her assignments in screenplay form. She, and her film, are positively “ones to watch” – congratulations Anjali!”