ASET launches pilot STEM day camp program for EIPS students | Jobs Vox

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Thanks to a group from the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET) Edmonton students got hands-on exposure to the exciting and diverse profession of engineering technology in the November 26 pilot of ASET’s STEM Camp series.

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Two students from Fort Saskatchewan High School participated in the pilot, which was conducted along with 13 other Elk Island Public School (EIPS) students on the NAIT campus in Edmonton. lamont, Ardrossan, and Strathcona County.

Camp participants participated in workshops that gave them practical experience working as an Electrical Engineering Technologist and Mechanical Engineering Technologist.

“I think it was a roaring success,” said said Barry Cavanaugh, CEO of ASET. “It was a first and it was a pilot for camps that we hope to grow. But it went really well with the students and went really well with the instructors and I think it accomplishes exactly what That’s what we were hoping to do; to introduce students to a potential career they may not have even known existed.”

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As part of the Electrical Engineering Technology workshop, students were given the opportunity to produce a miniature version of a motor control circuit (a control circuit ensures that the motor is switched on and off in a safe manner), which was eventually used as a model. A crane was employed to control it.

The second workshop, Mechanical Engineering Techniques, taught students to build a model crane for which motor control circuits were designed. Students were instructed in computer-aided design (CAD), using 3D printing to manufacture the crane and CAD for its assembly.

“They were excited about it and really got into it,” Cavanaugh said. “Not only that, but when the slightest problem arose, they all tried to solve it. So what he experienced was a normal thing that technologists experience on a daily basis. And it’s really exciting because they really got to see what the profession is all about.

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Between workshops, students learned about the differences between engineering technology and engineering professions, and the many disciplines and professions that exist within engineering technology.

“I think young people often feel an uncertainty as they reach the end of their post-secondary education because they don’t have enough information about where their careers could go, and we wanted to help with that. Cavanaugh explained. “The truth is these technologists are all around us and they are doing all kinds of things that we don’t even realize on a daily basis. That’s why we brought up the urgency of helping people understand what these technologists do Some of these kids may become technologists and some may not, but at least they will be able to understand who is around them and what they are doing.

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According to ASET’s 2021 Salary Survey, electrical engineering technologists and mechanical engineering technologists starting their careers as technologists-in-training command average annual salaries of approximately $68,000 and $61,000, respectively. Technologist-in-Training are graduates of Polytechnic/Technical Colleges and possess Diploma in Engineering Technology, which is generally completed in two years duration. They are registered with ASET and are in the process of accumulating the required field experience to earn their designation as Certified Engineering Technologists (CETs).

Technicians install cables and phones, monitor traffic, work in laboratories and as process workers in refineries and manufacturing. Technologists work with engineers to design plans, construct commercial buildings and return well sites to nature. They also enjoy fast-working telephone networks, smart bus connections, proper water pressure in the home, perfectly clean water to drink, reliable natural gas service and electric power, smooth roads for driving, and responsible oil and gas exploration. /production/processing and distribution.

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ASET is the professional self-regulatory organization for engineering technologists and technicians in Alberta. ASET currently represents approximately 17,000 members, including full-time technology students, recent graduates and fully certified members in 21 disciplines and more than 120 businesses across a multitude of industries.

The recent Camp Pilot at NAIT, organized with the support of Elk Island Public Schools, marks Assett’s efforts with school boards across the province with the goal of developing student outreach activities in collaboration with four polytechnic/technical colleges: NAIT, SAIT, Red Deer Polytechnic and Lethbridge College. The plan is to organize at least one day camp annually in each of the four institutes.

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