What We Learned: Top Takeaways from a Summer with QSDT

We couldn’t be happier with what we’ve been able to do as a team this summer. We’re grateful to our supervisor, Professor Harrison, and the Mechanical and Materials engineering department for supporting us along the way.

Here are some of our biggest takeaways from this summer so far:

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Ioana Pitu, Business Manager

Working for the Queen's Solar Design Team this summer, I've learned the importance of different lenses of thinking. Not only has the fact that we're an interdisciplinary team taught me to see things through an engineer's perspective, but working on sponsorship also means you have to think like the person on the other end of the call.

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Scott Sikich, Mechanical Manager

Throughout my time as the mechanical manager, I've had the chance to work on a multidisciplinary team. Doing so, I've learned about the communication and collaboration techniques to effectively bring together multiple specialties.

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Simon Law, Civil Manager

The biggest thing I've learned since starting as the QSDT civil manager is how easy it is to incorporate sustainable things into your lifestyle. The impact of things as simple and accessible as changing the windows in your house or choosing public transport as your means of transportation can have such an impact on both your environmental footprint and on your wallet.

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Chris Pennington, Electrical Manager

So far, my summer at QSDT has taught me a lot about off-grid electrical systems and how we can more efficiently use our electricity. Another important thing I've learned about is the safety requirements from the OESC which go into implementing these systems. I've found it interesting to learn not just the rules, but the science behind the requirements of the code.