蓝莓视频

Andrew Andrade was halfway around the world when the听mechatronics engineering听student discovered he had not only won 蓝莓视频 Engineering鈥檚 top co-op student award, but the national award as well.

Andrade was on an exchange term at the National University of Singapore in March 2015 when he received an email about the Faculty award and another one announcing he鈥檇 been chosen by the听听补蝉听听补苍诲听winner for 2014. The prestigious honours recognized his outstanding work term performance, along with other factors including community involvement, and contribution to co-op and academic achievement.

Andrade鈥檚 engineering co-op experience ranges from work terms spent at听. in Calgary, to听in California, to听, a company he launched in 2014 along with recent 蓝莓视频 mechanical engineering graduate Dominic Toselli.

The idea to establish his own business was sparked by a talk given by听Larry Smith, a University of 蓝莓视频 professor, who specializes in the forecasting and economics of innovation.听 Speaking about the advantages of the University鈥檚 co-op program, Smith emphasized the opportunities students have to develop an innovation solution for an industry challenge faced by workplace employers.

Using co-op experience to build an engineering startup

In tandem with Smith鈥檚 advice, Andrade used his knowledge of the problems in the production of oil and gas and combined that with some of the techniques and technologies he had gained exposure to while working at Facebook in Silicon Valley. The result was PetroPredict, which uses data analytics to enable oil companies to make better decisions for potential pipeline leaks that could cause environmental damage.

鈥淲e build tools that identify problems in the production of oil and gas to help engineers make better decisions,鈥� says Andrade.

After reaching out and receiving initial positive feedback for PetroPredict from a number of industry experts, Andrade spent a work term in the听Enterprise Co-op program听working on his company. Run out of the听Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, E Co-op enables students to start a business while earning a co-op credit.

鈥淭he business advice I鈥檝e received along the way from people throughout the University has been invaluable,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone I鈥檝e spoken to about the company goes out of their way to help.鈥�

The results of Andrade and Toselli鈥檚 efforts have paid off in a rewarding way. In 2014, PetroPredict won a pair of top awards at the听听and captured several major awards from听, the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 startup incubator.听 The company also deployed its analytics solution to a multi-billion international oil company and has made research contributions to the application of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics in the petroleum industry.

A strong advocate for the Faculty鈥檚 co-op system, Andrade鈥檚 first work term experience was at a machine and tool company while he was still a high school student in Port Credit, ON.听 It was there he learned the basics of manufacturing, the resulting skills of which helped him land his university co-op positions.

Andrade regularly speaks about the benefits of a co-op education to audiences that include current 蓝莓视频 students and ones at his former high school.听 Not able to be there in person, he was Skyped in to Port Credit Secondary School while working at Facebook in California.

He is currently working on an online tutorial series called听听听with the(SPE) student chapter. The tutorial series is intended to help educate students on the basics of the petroleum industry to both enable opportunities in the industry for co-op and for entrepreneurial innovations.

In September 2015, the University鈥檚 SPE student chapter will launch new Petroleum 101 content featuring multiple guest authors in the industry.

鈥淧etroleum101 is written to provide young professionals the information they need to succeed in the industry,鈥� explains Andrade.听 鈥淎s the world鈥檚 reliance on energy from petroleum continues in the foreseeable future, there is a greater number of opportunities both for employment and for innovations to ensure that petroleum production methods are sustainable and efficient while maintaining low environmental risk.鈥�

Up next for the engineering student? 听Finishing his final year of school, which includes working as part of a team on a听Capstone Design听project to be showcased in March 2016.听 The multidisciplinary team consisting of mechatronics, mechanical and systems design engineering students is working on a stationary energy storage system that enables the sustainable and economical electrical storage for residential use.听 Although Andrade is keeping details of the project under wraps right now, based on his successful track record both inside and outside of the classroom there鈥檚 no doubt his project will capture attention.