Alumni Show DEEP Passion for Skule™
From regenerative medicine to building race cars, students enrolled in U of T's Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP) Summer Academy this July, played scientists.
Organized annually by the Skule™ Outreach Office since 2003, DEEP provides gifted and highly motivated high school students from across the world with the opportunity for advanced study in a variety of engineering, technology, business and science disciplines. It is one of the most diverse ranges of pre-university engineering and science courses in North America.
Instructors spend hours working with students to explore some of the most innovative topics in engineering and science today.
Evan Mills (EngSci 0T8), began in the DEEP program as a student, and later went on to do his undergrad at U of T Engineering. Currently a PhD candidate for Biomedical Engineering at IBBME, Evan returns every summer to teach at the Academy.
“You get to connect with young people who are figuring out what they want to do,” Evan said, “and it helps me return to basics in my field.”
Like Mills, DEEP instructor Jian-Feng Shi (AeroE MASc 0T4) shares a common passion for the program. His relationship with DEEP began eight years ago, in response to an email soliciting ideas for new courses that could be offered by the program. Today, his courses on space and project management are among the most popular in a long line up of courses offered, and have resulted in scores of high school students finding a new fascination for space exploration and engineering.
“Each year, I have the chance to get more students interested in space exploration,” Shi said. “It also gives these high school students the opportunity to get interested in engineering and all of the different disciplines.”
After graduating from Aerospace Engineering at U of T, Jian-Feng worked on a range of projects including maintenance systems for CF-18 fighter aircrafts and presentations for NASA. Currently employed as a Guidance Navigation and Control Systems Engineer at MDA Space Missions, Jian-Feng continues to teach at DEEP using two weeks of personal vacation time.
“It’s a bit of sacrifice,” Shi acknowledged, “but well worth it.”
Dawn Britton, who leads the Engineering Outreach Office that offers DEEP, considers Shi a critical element to the program’s success.
“His enthusiasm for engineering is contagious and students in his class come away with not only an increased understanding of the subject matter but also an appreciation of what it means to be an engineer,” says Britton. “Students literally come from around the world to attend his course.”
Shi’s commitment to DEEP extends beyond the classroom. As Chair of the Kingsway Chapter of the Professional Engineers Ontario, he helped establish a scholarship that allows a student in financial need to attend DEEP at no cost, as well as five other awards to encourage female students to participate. He encouraged his employer to support the program, which they did this year when MDA Space Missions donated to DEEP’s scholarship fund.
A defining moment for Shi occurred when he happened to run into the father of a former student.
“He walked right up and said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’ He said that because of my course, his son became so interested in science and technology that he worked harder and his high school grades went up. As a result, he was able to go to the university he wanted to attend – the University of Toronto,” explained Shi, who noted the student was then completing his first year of civil engineering at U of T.
“That’s what this is really all about,” said Shi, who hopes to continue to be involved in the program over the years to come.
To find out more about DEEP and other U of T Engineering pre-university programs go here