Engineering Research Officer (Transport Canada)

I started working as a coop student with Transport Canada in the summer of 2010. During the four months I spent as a coop student, my main accomplishments included:

• Writing a weekly newsletter for distribution within Transport Canada;
• Researching database/collaboration tools;
• Reaching out to other online databases for insight and best practices;
• Researching marine technologies;
• Compiling a comprehensive report highlighting current and emerging technologies in the marine industry with a special focus one environmental, structural, and safety technologies; and
• Preparing briefing material for management (e.g., Manager, Director, etc.).

After my coop term with Transport Canada, I continued to work part-time, as I was still studying full-time at the University of Ottawa, during the Fall of 2010. My work remained unchanged during that time.

In Winter 2011, I was completing one course at the University of Ottawa to fulfill the requirements of my program, and was able to work full-time with Transport Canada. During that time, and since that time, my work has included:

• Engaging stakeholders (academia, industry, other governments) to synthesize the requirements of an online collaboration portal;
• Maintaining key project documentation including a project charter, budget, risk/issue log, and procurement documents for a multi-year project;
• Studying permafrost and its many impacts on transportation infrastructure in the North;
• Preparing procurement paperwork to support research initiatives on permafrost;
• Developing program-related documentation for an $11 million dollar program;
• Overseeing the release of a weekly newsletter by supporting and reviewing work completed by coop students;
• Interviewing and selecting coop students to support the initiatives of our group; and
• Mentoring an engineering coop student while supporting them in their day-to-day work activities, work-term reports, and career development.

Working with Transport Canada has provided me with many opportunities to further develop myself through professional courses, including:

• “Introduction to PointFire 2010 for SharePoint 2010,” IceFire (February 2011)
• “SharePoint 2010 End User Training,” CTE Solutions (March 2011)
• “Team Building,” Transport Canada (April 2011)
• “How Ottawa Works,” Canada School of Public Service (June 2011)
• “Permafrost Engineering Short Course,” University of Alberta (December 2011)
• “Project Planning and Control: Techniques and Tools,” Canada School of Public Service (March 2012)
• “Managing Grants and Contributions,” Canada School of Public Service (October 2012)
• “PIEVC Climate Vulnerability Assessment – Online Training Series”, Climate Resilient Systems Training (February 2014) – Certificate
• CAPM Edge: Your Guide to Mastering the Certified Associate in Project Management Exam (March 2014)

Awards/Recognition:

• Transport Canada Appreciation Award (June 2013)

Workshops/Conferences:

• The Northern Forum’s Adapting to climate change in northern and Arctic regions and finding solutions to permafrost degradation (April 19 – 22, 2012)
• 3rd Annual Workshop of the Permafrost Network – Iqaluit/Pangnirtung, Nunavut (May 27 – 30, 2012)
• The 15th International Specialty Conference on Cold Regions Engineering (August 19 – 22, 2012)
• ArcticNet’s 8th Annual Scientific Meeting (Dec. 10 – 14, 2012)
• 4th Annual Workshop of the Permafrost Network – Fairbanks, Alaska (Jun. 5 – 8, 2013)
• Pan-Territorial Permafrost Workshop (Nov. 3 – 7, 2013)
• 5th Annual Workshop of the Permafrost Network – Dawson City, YT (Jun. 4 – 6, 2014)

I’ve also been fortunate enough to take part in French training through my work. I’m also supplementing this training with self-learning podcasts, books, etc. This is a great opportunity to build on my French language skills.