For quite a few years now, UCR has been supporting students in automotive technology at Centennial College with two $1,500 scholarships and Fanshaw College with three $1,000 scholarships.
The club is committed to supporting the students who will hopefully become technicians who will be looking after our cars in the future. Â
This year, I had the honour of attending the Awards ceremony on March 25th at Centennial College, meeting with one of the students winning the PCA UCR Scholarship, Sajjad Hasnein Bhimani. The awards at Centennial College go to top students in the third semester of the Automotive Service Technician program. Since the awards ceremony came late in the term, the other student winning a Scholarship from UCR was not able to attend, having to spend time on course work. While Sajjad is not currently working at a Porsche dealership, this is something he would certainly like to do. He thanks us for the scholarship, making a big difference to him.
It was interesting meeting some of the other sponsors, who were all in the automotive industry, mainly as manufacturers or dealers. Everyone I talked to commented on the need to support students to create the talent pool needed to run their businesses. I also talked to several students, who struck me as bright, intelligent, and well-aware of the technologies that are in the process of changing the industry. Indeed, one mentioned courses coming up focusing on electric vehicle service, which certainly have their own set of challenges from the standpoint of servicing them in a safe and economical manner. It was heartening to meet them and gain some confidence in the future maintenance of our cars which are becoming increasingly complex. </>
