Aurora Selim, Daniel Wise and Sahar Asgari are this year’s McMaster Engineering Co-op Student of the Year Award winners.
The Engineering Co-op Program provides students with the opportunity to apply academic knowledge outside the classroom and gives them a competitive edge for the workforce.
Engineering Co-op & Career Services (ECCS) presents the Co-op Student of the Year Award to students who have made an exceptional contribution to co-operative education. Historically, only undergraduate students have won this award, making Sahar Asgari the inaugural graduate-level winner. The winners receive a plaque and a $500 prize in recognition of of their workplace and academic achievements, as well as contributions to McMaster and the greater community.
Undergraduate Recipients
Aurora Selim
B.Tech -Biotechnology
ThermoFisher Scientific
Aurora joined TFS as a Process Engineering co-op student. Her focus in this role was to maintain the daily readiness files that were used by the team for project status reports and assist Process Engineering specialists. Aurora learned not to be afraid to ask questions or establish goals during her co-op. In her interview, she mentioned how interested she was in learning about the product journey, which resulted in Aurora being added to a team working on a priority technology transfer of a new product.
“Overall, Aurora Selim will always be a co-op student that I remember for her excellence. Her work ethic and driven mindset will serve her well in her future career. If I ever have the opportunity to call her colleague again in the future, I will be excited for what we can do together,” shares Craig Goodhand, Process Engineering Specialist/Technical Operations.
When asked how McMaster Engineering’s Co-op has helped her develop a career plan, Aurora shares:
“How to explore all career paths I can take. I thought I could only land in a lab. I encourage everyone to apply anywhere and everywhere. Because of this, I learned that I like the lab and project management. And now, I finally have an answer to the ‘where you want to be in five years’ question!”
Daniel Wise
Mechatronics
ATG Pharma Inc.
Daniel was a crucial member at ATG working as an R&D Engineering Intern. His first project was to develop the full electrical, mechanical, and software packages of the Cartridge Depositor – a heated syringe-like dispenser head. After completing this project ahead of time, Daniel’s ability to design and produce robotic instruments was utilized for the high-level design of the HummingBird XYZ – a cartesian robot that would replace the existing unit. Daniel credits courses like SFWRENG 3K04 and 3SH3 as being helpful in his co-op.
“Daniel’s impact was also noticeable interpersonally. From the start of his time at ATG he showed initiative in finding solutions to his engineering problems, and his enthusiasm for his work was palpable. That combined with his successes gave a boost of energy and confidence to the engineering department,” says Andrew Cuthbert, Senior Applications Engineer, on Daniel’s impact.
When it comes to what the greatest takeaway was from his co-op, Daniel says:
“The confidence gain I had in my skills. I was able to take what I was learning in school and apply it in the job, creating this positive feedback loop.”
Graduate Recipient
Sahar Asgari
Mechanical
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Sahar worked as a Data Scientist co-op student for the Ministry of Health. Her main task was automating the deliverance of COVID-19 analyses to clients. Additionally, after successfully creating a model to predict undetected COVID-19 cases, she was assigned to find out if it is possible to supplement the source data with mobility data to improve the accuracy of the model.
“Our confidence in her abilities is demonstrated by our willingness to hire Sahar into our branch after she completed her co-op work term. I rank Sahar among the top Co-op students I have had the pleasure of working with,” says Saad Rais, Sr. Manager, Health Data Science Branch.
Sahar shares this advice for grad students who are looking for co-ops:
“I encourage you to apply for different positions, especially on OscarPlus. Remember, never get disappointed. Be sure to ask for different instructors’ guidance, as I had great experience using instructors to help with cover letters and resumes. ECCS was also helpful in expanding my network.”
Earlier this week, we celebrated these winners. Watch the ceremony below.
Future Leader Recipients & Co-op Student of the Year Nominees
Mohamed Abdelnabi
Mechanical Engineering (MASc)
McMaster University
Muaz Akhta
Computer Engineering
Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
Neel Gokhale
Engineering Physics
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Krystina Mair
B-Tech-Biotechnology
JNE Environmental
Julianna Marr
Mechanical Engineering
Parker Hannifin
Nashit Mohammad
Mechatronic Engineering
H.E. Rieckelman
Nhan Phan
Mechanical Engineering
Honda of Canada Manufacturing
Harpreet Singh
Manufacturing Engineering (MEng)
ArcelorMittal Dofasco
Senni Tan
Software Engineering
Geotab Inc.
Annika Yardy
Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering
Sanofi Pasteur Limited
Supervisor Recognitions
Andre Phillion, McMaster University
Brian McKenzie, Modern Niagara
Dennis Tian, McMaster University
Emily Vernon, AMD
Isabel Berger, Hydro One
Navin Gautam, Ontario Power Generation
Poulami Sanyal, Stelco
Robert Colangelo, Husky Injection Molding Systems
Saad Rais, Ministry of Health
Shari Thatcher, Parker Hannifin, Parker Canada Division
Norhan Youssef, Suez Water Technologies & Solutions
Learn more about the ECCS Office and the services they offer for students.
