Community Engagement – About
The W Booth School’s community engagement program creates values for everyone.
It provides challenging learning opportunities for students eager to apply knowledge and skills in real world settings, and a talent pipeline for organizations needing to recruit the next generation of highly qualified personnel. In addition, it offers a gateway for industry, government and not for profit partners to access our school’s diverse assets, from faculty members with specialized expertise, to industry tailored training, to state of the art facilities.
Our school supports regional development, growth and sustainability by helping community partners discover and adopt new and emerging practices and technologies needed to flourish in the global economy.
Director’s Message
Invitation to Community Engagement
Our school’s mission is to educate future generations of engineering and technology talent equipped with competencies to excel in life, at work and in society.
These competencies extend from leadership and problem-solving skills to the ability to apply myriad technologies in diverse settings.
To this end, we deliver a holistic approach to teaching and learning that includes a focus on authentic practice through experiential education.
Relationships are the cornerstone of experiential education.
This is why we actively reach out to the wider community – local, national and international – to engage a mix of partners from industry, government and the not-for-profit sector.
These partners provide our faculty, students and staff with complex challenges that call for interdisciplinary solutions which involve engineering and technology.
SEPT appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with partners in fields such as healthcare, smart cities, climate resiliency, low carbon transportation, and advanced manufacturing ~ including the adoption of new and emerging technologies in small and medium size enterprises.
These engagements advance work to create a more just, prosperous and sustainable world while offering our students a platform to grow personally and professionally.
Together, we are making a positive impact on people and our planet.
I encourage you to explore this section of our website to learn more about SEPT’s community engagement practice, sample projects, and opportunities to get involved.
Dr. Brian Baetz, Director
W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology
Brighter World: A Shared Vision
Community Engagement – Advisors
W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology (SEPT) Advisory Board
McMaster engineering professors receive the highest level of research funding per faculty member in Canada. They are involved in research Centres of Excellence, consult with industry and government, and contribute to internationally renowned institutes in all disciplines. McMaster’s engineers are in an enviable leadership role in research and graduate education. This results in state of the art knowledge being passed on to undergraduates.
Learn More
Download flyers PDFs to learn more about McMaster Engineering’s multidisciplinary research areas.
Information Box Group
Community Engagement – Partners
Information Box Group
8th Line Innovators
Angela Fice
Eye3 Concepts
F123
Finbyte
RaceGate
Get Engaged
Share An Innovation Challenge
At any time, the W Booth School is engaged in dozens of projects that focus on helping organizations – private, public and not for profit – address their engineering-related innovation challenges. Projects capitalize on our school’s strengths in engineering design, policy, manufacturing and entrepreneurship, and routinely involve interdisciplinary student teams working under the supervision of faculty and staff. Solutions are tailored to an organization’s unique needs and range from prototypes and products to drawings, studies and reports. Most projects are delivered free of change as part of our school’s educational mandate.
Does your organization have an innovation challenge to share? Contact a W Booth School Community Engagement Coordinator now to explore potential solutions.
Contact Us
Richard Allen
Community Engagement Coordinator, W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology
Mentor Our Students
The W Booth School places a high value on providing mentorship experiences that support student learning, professional development and the transition to work. Volunteer mentors share specialized expertise and acquired wisdom in numerous areas, including technology, business, career planning and networking. And they provide encouragement and advice during an important chapter in our students’ lives. Mentors are particularly helpful in assisting students with real world projects required for graduation.
Mentorship commitments range from short, episodic engagements to more formalized longer term arrangements – we work to accommodate your schedule.
Contact us now to learn more.
Speak To Our Students
We welcome people from the wider community to speak with our students on topics specifically related to engineering practice and technology as well as more general themes such as job readiness, networking and career planning. Speaking platforms include Innovation Studio, Practitioner’s Forum, Showcase Events and regular classes.
Have a message to share? Contact us to discuss.
Use Our Facilities
The W Booth School offers free community access to a number of state-of-art facilities, including classrooms, seminar rooms and a large meeting hall. Bookings include use of AV equipment and whiteboards. Hospitality services available on a fee basis.
Contact us to book your next meeting.
Offer A Facility Tour
Our students, faculty and staff embrace opportunities to tour workplace facilities and interact with organizational leaders and practitioners. Tours help validate classroom learning, spotlight career pathways and enhance relationships. They also provide the perfect setting to explore potential projects aimed at addressing site-specific innovation challenges.
Open to hosting a facility tour? Contact us today!
Community Engagement – Projects
2019-2020 Projects
Wessuc Inc. | Automated Dewatering System Learn More
Convenient, fast and sustainable automated process with realtime remote monitoring and control for dewatering municipal waste.
Hamilton Chamber of Commerce | Industrial Waste Heat Recovery Learn More
Economically viable & technologically feasible innovative solutions to share waste heat and reduce GHG emissions to support action on climate change.
ESP Clinch Inc. | Image Processing for the Safety of Clinching Machines Learn More
Exploring the application of smart sensor and image processing technologies embedded into clinching machines that could predict safety risks and trigger immediate response protecting machine operators from hand injuries.
Airo Life | Solar Singles Learn More
High performance, photovoltaic shingles that are affordable, durable and aesthetically pleasing.
Carbon Dioxide Sequestration from Flue gas using Algae Learn More
The study intends to generate various alternatives and compare them on the grounds of process capability, economical feasibility and carbon footprint so that a recommendation can be made to the City to aid in their decision-making process.
A Machine Learning Algorithm to Determine Concentration of Ethanol in Fluids Learn More
The proposed machine learning approach can precisely detect the concentration of ethanol, efficiently and fast enough to be integrable in embedded processors.
AI for Anomaly Detection Learn More
This AI predictive maintenance helps avoid economic losses of $300K to $1M per defect, avoid repair time amounting to 3 to 5 days of no production, and avoid delivery and manufacturing delays.
AI for Solar Refrigeration Systems in Long Haul Trucks Learn More
Auto regulation of solar-powered refrigeration system in long haul trucks as they move from coast to coast in varying weather conditions.
Fatigue Test of Straps used in Public Transit Learn More
Proper testing of straps used in public transit enables its manufacturers to assure public safety in transit.
Forecasting & Scheduling Optimization Learn More
The method enables manufacturers to control production inventory, saving cost and delivering on time.
High-Speed Emergency Landing Gear and Suspension Design Learn More
This project can be the difference between a safe emergency landing and a disastrous accident. Every calculation counts!
Improving Throughput of Packaging Handling Machinery Learn More
Boosting the packaging rate ensures more product is ready to ship faster.
Offcut Reducation Study Learn More
Recommendations in areas such as mould making and maintenance, product cooling, and steps to eliminate wasteful offcuts will decrease cycle time and increase productivity.
Picking up Poorly Wrapped Steel Coils Learn More
The system promises the possible elimination of a 20 minute downtime due to errors experienced in managing the movement of steel coils.
Pill Crusher Re-Engineered Learn More
The proposed solution not only minimizes the burden on healthcare professionals in medication administration, but also contributes to the quality of healthcare services.
Prototype Reliability Study Learn More
Solutions promises enhanced reliability of recycled products without major changes to current production lines.
Robotic Cleanout Device Learn More
Proposed remote-controlled robotic system fights sludge to clean out large municipal digester tanks.
Robotic Greeter Learn More
The robotic greeter would greet and register visitors.
Rough Terrain Wheelchair Learn More
Rough terrain wheelchair will provide the people with mobility issues to move over the rough terrain easily, providing the user with better control of the wheelchair over the slopes.
The case of the Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patient and a Decision Aid Tool Learn More
The outcome of this project would enable faster and precise decision-making times which would aid in shorter ALC wait times. It would also improve the overall patient care experience.
Wound Imaging for Healing Assessment and Prediction Learn More
Provides a digital solution for wound examination and prediction with the least human intervention to improve time and efficiency in real-time.
2019-2020 Experiential Education Annual Report: Focus on Community-engaged Project Learning
Featured Projects
Students in Automation Engineering Technology helping the Hamilton Fire Department develop a digital, smart systems roadmap Read More
Smart technology is changing the world in many ways and has the potential to improve how firefighters access information in the field. To take advantage of these technologies, cities require infrastructure to receive and process vast amounts of data.
Researchers investigate a growing case for distributed smart systems and AI to reduce flooding in cities Read More
As our global climate changes, extreme weather events are growing in frequency in many places, including Southern Ontario. Ontario municipalities experience heavier rainfalls and more extreme storms that frequently overwhelm their sewer infrastructure.
Students are making it easier and safer for patients to self-administer hemodialysis Read More
Can human-centred design improve how patients and their caregivers learn to administer hemodialysis at home? Three McMaster Engineering students are exploring how we might improve this experience.