Class of 2017: From polytech to parchment, first Energy Engineering students set to graduate

Four kilometres and a couple of LRT stops.

It’s all that separates the halls of learning at the University of Calgary from the classrooms at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), but for engineering students like Jordan Lamoste, that gap may as well have been 1,000 kilometres.

Before 2015, there was no way for a polytechnic engineering student to complete their degree in Alberta. Lamoste expected he would soon be graduating SAIT, packing a suitcase and saying farewell to his hometown.

“It was always my goal to continue to pursue an engineering degree after obtaining my diploma from SAIT, but I assumed I would have to leave Calgary,” explains Lamoste. “The only option to continue and still be able to get credit for my education at SAIT was to pursue transfer programs outside of Alberta — there was no program offered here in the city.”

The Schulich School of Engineering’s Energy Engineering program, created in collaboration with SAIT and launched in the spring of 2015, changed all that.

Rigorous 24-month program sees polytechnic grads move into third-year engineering

For the first time, students with approved engineering technology diplomas could complete their studies at the University of Calgary, graduating with a fully-accredited engineering degree in as little as two years.

“This is a great example of how post-secondary institutions can work together strategically to meet the needs of our students and support our province’s evolving economy,” said University of Calgary President Elizabeth Cannon.

At Schulich School of Engineering’s convocation ceremony June 6, Lamoste will be among the first to graduate from Energy Engineering — and it’s telling that he must book the day off from his new job at an engineering firm in Calgary.

“I've recently started with a local company focused on sustainable manufacturing and utilizing technology throughout their processes,” says Lamoste. “I've learned a lot about sustainability throughout my educational career, and I'm glad to begin my engineering career with a company that has those values.”

Hometown advantage combines practical experience, specialized engineering bridging program

Prior to Energy Engineering, Alberta’s polytechnic grads had to leave the province for specialized engineering bridging programs or start their studies over again as a first-year engineering student at a local university.

Brogen Bogstie was in that very position, weighing her post-SAIT options in Montana and various U.S. cities when Energy Engineering was announced. As she prepared to graduate on June 6, she says the program was ideal, both in terms of classmates and location.

“I think the best parts of the program were the people, and being close to home,” she says.

“My classmates made the learning exciting and we helped motivate each other, and being from Calgary, I could stay home instead having to move to the United States.”

Energy Engineering is a rigorous 24-month program which sees students go directly from a polytechnic into spring and summer of studies at the University of Calgary, in preparation for third-year engineering.

Accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), graduates of Energy Engineering are academically qualified to pursue their Professional Engineer designation, the same as other Schulich alumni.

Schulich School of Engineering Dean Bill Rosehart praised the hard work and drive that helped the first Energy Engineering graduates succeed in their university ambitions.

“These are students who have taken the practical experience of their polytechnic training and built upon that success to graduate with full university degrees and a promising future,” says Rosehart. “It wasn’t an easy journey, but through diligence and dedication, these students have charted a new course for engineering studies in Alberta.”

“SAIT is pleased to bring our 100 years of experience in applied education to this dynamic partnership,” said David Ross, SAIT president and CEO. “This is a pathway to that leads to great opportunities for students. They get the best from our two institutions, thereby setting themselves up for success in a rapidly changing global market.” 

SAIT student follows in family's UCalgary engineering footsteps

The pomp and circumstance of the University of Calgary convocation ceremony will be a familiar sight for Nicole Howorko, who graduated from the university with a degree in biology before enrolling in SAIT’s Petroleum Engineering Technology program.

Energy Engineering offered her a chance to return to the university and complete her degree at Schulich School of Engineering, just like her brother before her, and in the footsteps of her dad, who works in the oil and gas  industry.

“I come from a family which has built their lives around developing innovative technologies for the oil and gas industry, and I hope to be able to benefit the industry in a similar way,” says Howorko.