Wei - Q&A with Schulich Leader Zack Rooney

I started engineering having no idea what I wanted to specialize in – all I knew was that I liked math, science and technology. I remember, as a kid, being in love with cars though, to the point where if you were to ask me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I would have said, “Automotive Engineer.” But then in high school I started tinkering with software and saw a different avenue begin to take shape. Fast forward to my first year of university and my interests revolved mostly around robotics. With my very brief experience of software development and my fascination with mechanics, I found myself having to decide between Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering – and at the time I would have been happy with either. My decision between the two was based on my understanding that mechanical engineering is broader than computer engineering. In this context, broad is relative, because engineering in general is already extremely broad. Honestly, I look back at that decision and I could have gone either way – although I’m very happy in mechanical engineering now.

Yeah, I have few friends in the Naval Architecture Engineering program! I think that’s also another unique feature of MUN Engineering. A lot of graduate engineering research is related to marine and Arctic engineering.

Mechanical engineering is simply the study of anything that moves. Studying it in school is no cake-walk, but if you’re passionate about design and innovation, you will love it! You do get to choose a particular stream, but my understanding is that it’s pretty underwhelming. For instance, one of the streams you can go into at MUN is mechatronics, however, you don’t come out of that stream being an expert in mechatronics. If you were to go on to get your master’s degree in mechatronics, then you might be considered an expert. Personally, I haven’t chosen my stream yet, but I’m thinking either ‘mechatronics’ or ‘mechanics and materials’.

I think my transition from high school to university was a unique experience and I don’t think I speak for everyone. I chose to go to the Grenfell campus of MUN (located in Corner Brook, NL) which is much smaller than the main St. John’s campus. In terms of size, my high school was approximately the same as the Grenfell Campus. That said, I didn’t experience the shock of being a small individual in a large institution that I think most students typically experience. All of my classes had less than 30 people. However, I did still experience the difference in how fast academic content is delivered and living on my own for the first time. I think one of the best things you can do as a new student is meet other new students – invite people out to lunch, invite them to play a sport, or just find some comfy couches and get to know each other. Also, the other advice I have is to just be yourself (I know, I know, you’ve probably heard that many times before, but there’s a reason for that). And the third piece of advice is to take risks – you have a lot of freedom at this point in your life to try different things.

I always make time for hobbies, sports, and community involvements. For anyone starting university and you’re keen on doing the best you can in all courses, you may find yourself working on school work all day long. Unfortunately, fully engulfing yourself in school work is a bad strategy and you may burn out before the end of the semester. It’s important to always have something else other than school that you’re interested in, that you can allow you to decompress or regain some energy. For myself, my hobbies are cooking, skiing (snow and water), being active outside, or any cool side project I’m working on.

Joining designs teams when you first start university will help you get the best internships.

Eastern Edge is a phenomenal school team at MUN. Staying true to the coastal geography of Newfoundland, the team at Eastern Edge designs and builds an underwater robot (we call them remote-operated-vehicles, or ROVs) to compete in the MATE ROV competition (https://materovcompetition.org/) every year. CAD software, 3D printing, and CNC toolpaths were some of the hard-skills I learned, but one of the most important soft-skills was how to work in a team environment. If you understand the scientific and engineering concepts in class AND have a really good understating of practical applications, BUT lack team work skills, you will NOT be a successful engineer. Being able to work and communicate collaboratively in a team environment is one of the most important skills of an engineer.

Not always, no. In fact, there really is no ‘start-point’ in engineering internships. Most of the time, as you are starting out with very little experience, so it can be difficult to get into the position you want most. As you progress with your internships, your options for positions widens.

Production engineering is a broad term that can mean different things for different companies. Some would describe it as everything that happens after a new product is designed. It’s closely related to manufacturing engineering.

The Schulich scholarship was taken away the financial burden of going to university. It has also given me the freedom to live on my own during my academic terms and travel to new places for my work terms. But, above all else, the Schulich foundation gave me access to a network of some of Canada’s smartest and ambitious students. Every year, the Schulich foundation gets everyone together in their provinces and we all take part in a national online conference. Additionally, we have online groups on Facebook and LinkedIn where people share job ads, share project ideas, or ask questions.