Graduating students in the School of Trades and Apprenticeship showcased their capstone projects at the college’s Cambridge - Fountain Street campus on April 16 and 17. Faculty, employers and industry partners were on-hand to evaluate the presentations and network with more than 200 students who set-up and presented over 60 displays of their work.
(Pictured L-R) Karina Morales Escudero, Lijin Vajayan, Vishnu Visakan, Basil Kuriakose, Novela Praise Shaji, and Teena Jose with their display and prototype at the capstone event.
Capstone projects are the culmination of skills and knowledge that students have gained throughout the duration of their programs at Conestoga.
“It’s inspiring each term to see the innovation and ideas of our students brought to life through capstone projects,” said Amanda Feeser, chair, School of Trades and Apprenticeship.
“These projects showcase the talents of our students as well as their job-readiness, as their ability to think practically in developing sound solutions to real-world problems is highlighted, as well as their teamwork, communication and presentation skills.”
Kishan Mistry, Keyul Patel, Jaimin Patel, Ashok Dangar and Sajin Thomas, students from the Applied Manufacturing Management program, developed an automated system that can detect packages on a conveyer belt which are of an irregular weight and automates the process of sorting them aside for sealing and labelling. This replaces a process that is typically done manually and is aimed at increasing efficiency in industries such as food and textile processing.
Novela Praise Shaji, Lijin Vajayan, Karina Morales Escudero, Teena Jose, Basil Kuriakose, and Vishnu Visakan presented their device that detects deviations within crane operations in a port environment and automatically adjusts the crane movement to steer shipping containers safely. The Applied Electrical Motion and Control Management students developed a scaled prototype of their idea, which is meant to increase efficiency and safety, and reduce the risk of human error.
Arjun Sudheendran Pillai Sreekumari, Nidhin Chandran, Soloman Maravattikkal Saleel, Amal Thomas, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Jerofer Baskaran, and Pragatheesh Kumar Suresh Kumar Satheeja Kumari from the Applied Energy Management program devised a water desalination system that uses solar and wind power, as well as reverse osmosis technology, to create a net-zero water source. Designed for areas that are experiencing water scarcity, the team used coastal Cape Breton as a test-case community due to its proximity to salt water and appropriate population size.
Other projects on display included battery energy storage systems, solutions to increase safety and efficiency in steel foundries, innovations to improve mouse traps, and power-generating treadmills.
Conestoga is a provincial leader in the delivery of trades and apprenticeship training to serve industry needs and the growing community. Comprehensive programming includes a wide range of post-secondary trades programs that provide pathways to employment in skilled trades careers as well as pre-apprenticeship training and in-school training for apprentices.
Visit the School of Trades & Apprenticeship for more information.