A delegation from Dawson College attended the 2nd Sino-Canada Skills competition held in Nanjing, China from June 10th through June 12th.

Two students, Joseph Fanaberia and Pietro Mosca, from the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program, won first prize in the Design Innovation Competition.

The Design Innovation Competition pitted college teams from Quebec and across China in a very challenging event: design a new and innovative product. The Dawson team created a product called SwiftLift, which consisted of an electrically powered, modular conveyor system that could carry loads of up to 500 kgs up flights of stairs. The Chinese judges were extremely impressed by the professionalism of the presentation, the relevance of the product, and the thoroughness of the technical report.

Two other students, Roland Bienvenu and Daniel Krauss, also of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at Dawson College, each won third prize in the CNC Milling Competition (Roland) and the CNC Lathe Competition (Daniel). This was a very challenging event for the students, as they only had a few hours to become familiar with the Chinese machine they were to use. Despite the substantial disadvantage, Roland was able to complete his challenge in less than the 4 hour time limited prescribed.

The students are honored to have been selected to participate in the competition, and are very thankful for the opportunity to represent Dawson College. The students unanimously agree that it was an unforgettable cultural exchange and learning experience.

Joining the Dawson delegation was a team from CEGEP Limoilou, Quebec City. The delegation consisted of two students, Hugo Potvin-Belanger and Julien Ste-Marie, and their teacher Guy Martineau. It was their first experience in the Sino-Canada competition, and they were very impressed with the entire experience.

Also in attendance were Mr. Don Walker, Dean of International Development at Dawson College, and Mr. Bryn Hughes, a teacher in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

We thank the students for their hard work, and applaud their success!