Chi-Yu (Kenny) Wei (1T6 + PEY)
PEY Placement
Company: TransCanada Corp.
Position: Program Planning (Intern) – Canadian Gas Operation
Location: Calgary, AB
Duration: May 2015 – July 2016
“Working at TransCanada was one of the best experiences I’ve had. My team responsible for the planning of the maintenance program down to an annual or monthly basis while maintaining demands of commercial operations being met and ensuring the safety of the pipeline. I was often in charge of creating and developing my own tasks and was included in the initiation of a variety of different projects. These projects and tasks ranged from drafting five-year financial forecasts and prioritizing Pipeline Integrity work worth over $700M to designing an Excel add-on valued at $300,000 to connect Excel to SharePoint. The work, though often non-technical, was extremely beneficial for my personal development. I learned how are financials are maintained within a large corporation, how each department within TransCanada work together, and how are pipelines constructed, inspected and maintained. Having a variety of problems to solve and new knowledge to gain kept me on my toes every day.
PEY Internships are not just about work at the workplace. I chaired the TransCanada student committee, adventured throughout Banff national park for midnight astrophotography opportunities and snowboard for the very first time. If given a chance, I would definitely work for TransCanada Corp. again.”
Karim Bounekhla (1T6 + PEY)
PEY Placement
Company: TransCanada Corp.
Position: Project Engineer (Intern) – Canadian Gas Operation
Location: Calgary, AB
Duration: May 2015 – Aug 2016
“I had a great experience working at TransCanada during my PEY. As a Project Engineer, I was given great responsibilities in managing the engineering design phase of integrity projects (ranging from $2M to $10M). While not overly technical, the nature of the work revolved mostly around coordination and communication with various stakeholders, contractors and groups (both internal and external). Due to the relatively small scale of the projects, I was able to complete projects in a ‘cradle to grave’ approach (from an idea on paper to construction), which allowed me to get the full project experience multiple times.
My role in a typical project would consist of scope definition, followed by land survey and geotechnical investigation, and finally the design phase where the actual engineering is done. Throughout all of this, I also had to coordinate with Land, Environmental, Regulatory and Aboriginal relation groups as due diligence to ensure no hiccups arose during construction. Overall, this internship has given me an enhanced understanding of project management, business communication, and stewardship in engineering and the industry.
When not working, there is plenty to do in Calgary – especially as an outdoorsy person. There are hundreds of ski resorts, hiking trails, lakes, etc. in the Rockies just an hour away! I have definitely become fond of this city and would come back.”
Nikola Andric (1T5 + PEY)
PEY Placement
Company: Agfa Graphics
Position: Assistant Project Leader – Engineering Intern GS/Plate Systems Development
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Duration: Sep 2014 – Aug 2015
“My experience in Belgium working for Agfa Graphics during my Professional Experience Year was nothing short of amazing. I loved my job and was given the responsibility to help lead an innovative research and development project. The details of my project are mostly confidential but my work involved the development of innovative printing plates and electronics. Daily tasks varied from running tests to working on patents and reports. I also regularly presented my project progress to my project managers and members of the analytics department. I had an excellent mix hands-on work and office work, which is great!
During the times I didn’t have work, I was constantly travelling to new and exciting places, from the fjords in Norway to the mountains in Greece. In addition, there were more than 20 other student interns working at the company ranging from countries such as France, Germany, Serbia, Scotland and Spain, so there was always something fun going on! I definitely recommend doing PEY and applying to go abroad if you are looking to enhance your university experience!”
(Anne) Mariel Albarico (1T5 + PEY)
PEY Placement
Company: Husky Energy Inc.
Position: OS Emerging Subsurface Technology Co-op Student, Oil Sands Subsurface Unit
Duration: Sep 2014 – Sep 2015
“My PEY placement at Husky Energy Inc. was such a great experience for me. My teammates and manager were all very helpful when I first started. They gave me all the tools I needed to help me fully understand the oil sands industry. From having no oil sands or upstream operations experience or knowledge, I was able to easily adapt and develop/strengthen my technical skills and understanding.
My job was in the Oil Sands Subsurface Technology Deployment team where I helped look over current technologies that can optimize the extraction of bitumen at Sunrise, Husky Energy’s most recent Oil Sands Project. My team and I evaluated Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage technologies that reduce the cost and improve the energy-efficiency of Husky’s operations. Some of my daily responsibilities were:
- Run and evaluate simulations using CMG – STARS to figure out the effect of a certain technology
- Input technology dispositions into Husky Innovation Engine and assign professional engineers and geologist to evaluate the technology
- Communicate with vendors regarding emerging technologies, field trials, etc.
- Create a database that provides an overview of the different technologies that exist in industry.
I definitely improved as an engineer while becoming part of the technical team. I really enjoyed my time at Husky; I met a lot of great people, improved my technical skills, and worked on some cool and relevant projects. I would definitely want to go back.”