Salman Bawa, Community Engagement Coordinator in the Faculty of Engineering’s W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, is this year’s recipient of the Veronika Czerneda Staff Award for Outstanding Service. Bawa was honoured with the award at the Faculty’s annual State of the Faculty event on Nov. 29.
Bawa joined W Booth in 2015 as the inaugural Community Engagement Coordinator, a role he helped define and shape. He’s played a pivotal part in creating collaborative teaching and learning activities for students by bridging the gap between the School and community partners.
The strong relationships across key sectors that Bawa has built, from industry experts to government officials, have provided invaluable support to a new generation of employment-ready graduates.
In June 2023, Salman, alongside his colleague Richard Allen, launched W Booth’s inaugural Opportunity Marketplace, an in-person, interactive forum designed to facilitate the exchange of community-based learning opportunities among faculty members and leading organizations from the Hamilton community such as the City of Hamilton, CityLAB Hamilton, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
Despite all that he has achieved in his eight outstanding years of service to the McMaster Engineering community, Bawa’s colleagues say it’s his personality and passion that sets him apart.
Salman’s unwavering commitment and heartfelt dedication to his work has been a true inspiration. It has been such a privilege getting to work alongside him. He does so much for the School and its students, always with great humility and an infectious smile. Salman is an “old soul” who brings his courtly manner to bear in the most engaging of ways, always looking for a deep human connection in any situation. His work ethic is like no other.
Earlier this year, Baetz, Allen and Bawa received the McMaster Students’ Union (MSU) Community Engagement Award.
Reflecting on the impact of his work, Bawa recounted how students and their experiences in translating their coursework into industry experience has always been at the forefront of what community engagement means to him. His greatest goal is to find ways to bridge the gap between industry and academia to ensure a smooth school-to-employment transition for students.
Bawa says that the most rewarding part of his job is watching how his work helps students, especially international students, launch their careers by gaining valuable Canadian work experience. He knows first-hand the significance of a Canadian education paired with meaningful work experience can have for future success.
As an electronics engineering graduate from the Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology, Bawa came to Canada in 2009 as an international student in McMaster’s Master of Engineering – Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Engineering Physics at McMaster under the supervision of Dr. Adrian Kitai, studying the potential use of abundant materials such as silicon and carbon in the manufacturing of LED lights.
In the words of Bawa’s colleagues – Michele Vaz, Brian Baetz, Richard Allen and Karen Totimeh – Bawa truly embodies the mission of W Booth School: To develop the next generation of engineering and technology practitioners through educational experiences focused on applied teaching and learning.
The Veronika Czerneda Staff Award for Outstanding Service is named in honour of a staff member who passed away in July 2000 and recognizes a member of staff who has made an outstanding contribution to the Faculty of Engineering.
