Technology Accreditation Canada (TAC) today announced the 2023 Technology Report Contest prize winners. Awarded the top prize of $1,000 are Peter Mourre, and Austin Peppard, graduates of the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic with their “Heat Retention for Overhead Doors” report.
In addition to the excellent report format, technical research and use of tools, this report included the extensive use of graphs, tables, diagrams, and copious calculations to display and justify parameters of the final design. Beyond the technical aspects of this project, the students provided an economic justification by presenting costing and payback calculations. The methods of data gathering were meticulous and comprehensive which provided accurate data for developing the solution that incorporated safety and environmental considerations.
This project was originally identified as a potential applied research industry project between Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the City of Saskatoon as the sponsor, and it was selected by Peter and Austin.
Kurt Soucy, P. Eng., Program Head MET, noted the project's unique aspects, emphasizing that "engineering" isn't always solely about the technical aspects but also the context in which recommendations are presented. Also as is common for industry projects, student teams can develop specialized knowledge and skill sets, which rival or surpass those of their faculty advisors or industry sponsors, as exemplified by Peter and Austin.
Brenda Suru, Interim Dean noted, “This industry capstone project by MET students Peter Mourre and Austin Peppard allowed them to leverage their foundational MET education to progress well past base program learning outcomes. Winning the TAC Technology Report Contest for their work further demonstrates Saskatchewan Polytech’s high-quality education in action. TAC accreditation is an important part of ensuring that we are on track to provide the most up-to-date and relevant hands-on learning in our programs. We are appreciative of TAC’s ongoing guidance and support.”
Peter and Austin noted, “Although we did the work, we could not have been able to do it without our instructors, our peers, and the workers from the City of Saskatoon. Seeing all of our hard work pay off by winning this contest fills us both with pride and has given us more confidence in our abilities.”
Bryan Mendoza , graduate of the Program Mechanical Engineering Technology program at New Brunswick Community collected the second place prize of $500 for his Technology Report, “Converting Extruder No. 3”.
With his report titled, “Wheelchair E-bike Attachment , Spencer Lambert, a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Technology at Red River College Polytechnic collected the $300 third place prize.
The contest, open to TAC nationally accredited programs, saw eleven reports submitted. A panel of TAC auditors from select engineering technology and applied science disciplines form the technical review panels to conduct an initial rating of the reports. The top two reports in each discipline group were assessed by a final judging panel of three certified professionals, each with extensive education, industry, and audit backgrounds. Reports were scored on their topic selection, methodology, research, analysis, conclusions, originality, innovation, and presentation.
“This year’s Technology Report Contest showcased the incredible student talent produced from national accredited programs” pronounced Stephen Morley, TAC Chair of the Board. “Congratulations to our outstanding Technology Report contest winners! Your dedication to research and the pursuit of knowledge exemplifies the very essence of our Organization’s vision, mission, and values. Your innovative contributions have set a new standard for excellence in academia, and we are proud to have you as the recipients of our annual contest. We thank students and the project sponsors for their participation and support.”