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Our future in engineering is bright: Supporting Canada’s next gen engineers
Jun 13, 2022
For fourth-year University of Calgary student Austin Bercier, joining the Lauren Services team as an engineering intern for his work integrated learning term was almost too good to be true.
“I’ve had previous work experience over my summer breaks at some larger oil and gas companies, and I was always intrigued by the engineering consultants that were brought in for projects,” says Austin. “I noticed that a lot of the more technical projects were being outsourced to engineering firms. I wanted to do my co-op placement at a consulting firm to get that hands-on technical experience. When I got the offer letter from Lauren, it felt like the perfect match.”
Austin started with Lauren in the company’s Calgary office this past May and will spend the next year working with the team on a variety of projects as part of his education for his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and BComm in Operations Management from the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering and Haskayne School of Business.
“It’s very important to me that we support the next generation of engineers in Canada,” says Lauren’s managing partner, Rod Phipps. “Austin has a great education and natural skill set, and he is already making a positive difference on the Lauren team. It’s a total win-win.”
Austin belongs to the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3 and is the VP of Sponsorship for the Calgary Indigenous STEAM Students’ Association (CISSA), which focuses on facilitating learning and professional development opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) students at the University of Calgary.
When asked what he hopes to get out of his work-term with Lauren, Austin is focused on soaking up as much experience as possible. “In order to be a good project engineer, you need to have a strong technical foundation,” he says. “As consultants, Lauren works in so many different industries and on so many different projects, exposing me to a breadth of experience and giving me the best opportunity to learn about each of the key competencies to become a successful professional engineer.”
With offices in Calgary and Vancouver, Lauren Services delivers dynamic performance and intelligent design across the entire suite of engineering services.