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 The first class of CIADI students presented a commemorative plaque to CIADI Director Hany Moustapha and Assistant to the Director Zineb Bencheikh (centre) to thank them for their dedication to the project. Photo by Christian Fleury |
The Concordia Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (CIADI) held a birthday party on Nov. 19 — a recognition ceremony to acknowledge the accomplishments of the 26 students who are engaged in research work on aerospace projects as part of this partnership. The director of the Institute is Dr. Hany Moustapha, senior fellow and manager of Pratt & Whitney Canada Technology. He said that CIADI represents the first time in Canada that seven major aerospace companies have been brought together to enhance the education of undergraduate students by providing them with real design and research projects. “CIADI is a model to follow, and the first step towards establishing the Montreal Aerospace Institute‚ a network of industries and interested universities working together to promote the Canadian aerospace industry among the engineers of tomorrow.” Bombardier Aerospace Vice-President of Engineering François Caza said that the CIADI initiative makes a significant contribution to the development of engineers through the provision of skills specific to the aerospace industry. “Key strategies in this type of program are the tools provided to the students combined with the access to aerospace specialists, making the learning curve of the students steeper than otherwise possible in the regular university program structure.” For students, the experience is invaluable. Just listen to Julie Francoeur, a fourth-year aerospace undergraduate student collaborator with Bell Helicopter Textron: “Excellent computer facilities, a comfortable work environment, experience with real engineering projects, interaction between students and aerospace companies, and concern about the needs of engineering students — this is my definition of CIADI.” The industry supporters are Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bombardier Aerospace, Bell Helicopter Textron, EMS Technologies, CAE, CMC Electronics and Héroux Devtek. These partners also form the Institute’s advisory board, providing information on the latest industry and government needs, and articulating the Institute’s strategic planning. Here are the participating students: Bombardier Aerospace: Nahida Bchara, Tomer Curiel, Nader Faour, Monalisa Larouche, Carl Petrone, Neil Ristau and Pierre Said Bell Helicopter Textron: Julie Francoeur, François Gignac, Tony Lentzakis and Hany Sarhan CAE: Carmen Gonzales, Fadi Mansour and Halim Pagacz EMS Technologies: Paolo Babino CMC Electronics: Nick Maglione and Paul Slack Héroux Devtek: Wassim Bacha Pratt & Whitney Canada: Steven Faltas, Nadia Foty, Anthony Jonkov, Joelle Lewandowski, Tarek Mansour, Nancy Pallotti, Sandeep Singh and Martin Tremblay |