For Anastasia Polulyakhova (Year 3 MechE) and Katie Hung (Year 3 ChemE), this summer has been a whirlwind of hands-on learning as interns dedicated to Project Leap, the University of Toronto’s ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 50 per cent by the end of 2027.
Polulyakhova’s focus has been lighting, supporting work to upgrade to energy efficient LEDs in 38 buildings across campus. She has been digging deep into the numbers to track, summarize and analyze energy savings data made possible by the upgrades.
“I’ve learned a lot about excel,” she laughs.
Hung has become a fixture in the construction zone currently surrounding the Medical Sciences Building, where crews are hard at work connecting key buildings to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system under Front Campus. Her role has included site supervision, personal protective equipment monitoring and communicating with contractors about scheduling, issues management and more.
Both have found the experience invaluable, and have enjoyed the exposure to so many experienced professionals across a variety of trades and disciplines, including pipe fitters, welders, installers, heat tracers and energy managers with the St. George Sustainability Office.
“It’s awesome to hear people geek out about their work,” says Anastasia.
The real-world experience has been illuminating, with principles learned in class appearing in their work.
“It’s like all these puzzle pieces coming together,” says Katie, “what we’ve learned in class and what we’ve learned in real life.”
With their help, the first big step in the university’s vision to make the St. George campus climate positive by 2050 is coming to life. Through campus-wide sustainability solutions, including transforming how we heat and cool our campus, Project Leap will save nearly 50,000 metric tonnes of GHG emissions annually — equivalent to the energy use of more than 10,000 homes.
And while their summer internships with Ecosystem, one of the construction partners supporting Project Leap, may be coming to an end, Katie and Anastasia have a busy year of clubs, work and school ahead of them. With a few weeks left to go, they’re enthusiastic about learning as much as they can, and enjoying the generosity of spirit they’ve experienced on site.
You can learn more about Project Leap here.
– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on August 13 by Zoe Kelsey.