It’s just one of the ways that Carleton University is enhancing the value of its degrees – a new co-op partnership that will allow some Carleton aerospace engineering students to obtain a pilot’s licence – the first opportunity of its kind in Canada.
The initiative between Carleton’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Ottawa Aviation Services and B-Con Engineering Inc. selects 15 students for a co-op placement at OAS, with seven openings available to Carleton aerospace students. Participants graduate with a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and obtain either a commercial or private pilot’s licence.
With that kind of real-world experience, getting a job gets easier.
“This opportunity to gain a pilot’s licence will only further my engineering career and open doors into the aviation field,” said Jathunath Thiyagalingam, a second-year aerospace student at Carleton.
The partnership will not only produce well-rounded engineers but also some of the world’s best pilots, said his department chair Metin Yaras.
“Having the aerospace engineer being trained as a pilot makes sure that as the engineer develops the technology, he or she keeps in mind that ultimately the pilot will be flying the plane. Our students have been trained to be ready for this.”
This is just one example of the ways Carleton is continually enhancing the student experience and increasing the value of a university education.
A new report from the Council of Ontario Universities says the province is at the forefront of Canadian efforts to ensure that student and employers know what skills and knowledge students gain from their programs.
Ensuring the Value of University Degrees in Ontario explains how universities define degree level expectations and how those expectations are integrated into curriculum and learning outcomes, which are at the heart of Ontario’s new Quality Assurance Framework.
Overall, 93 per cent of university students find employment within six months of graduation.
One of them is Andrew Savage, last year’s Carleton Co-op Student of the Year. He knows all about the value of the university’s co-op experience.
After his third year at school, Savage completed a paid co-op placement with Kelowna Flightcraft Group of Companies in Kelowna, B.C., a company that maintains, modifies and engineers aircraft and their components.
Over the16 months Savage spent with the company, he was able impress his employers. He was offered a job upon graduating.
To find out more about what a Carleton University degree can do for you please visit:
http://www1.carleton.ca/career/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/
To find out more about Carleton’s more than 100 academic programs please visit:
http://admissions.carleton.ca.
To access the Council of Ontario Universities report, go to: http://www.cou.on.ca/news/media-releases/cou/new-report-focuses-on-defining-what-students-gain-.aspx.
