Over the weekend, EcoCAR Organizers and Year 2 Faculty Advisory Board (FAB) members gathered at two EcoCAR universities in Canada, McMaster University and the University of Waterloo, to kick off 2020 with the biannual FAB meeting.
The purpose of the FAB and these meetings are to allow select faculty advisors the opportunity to provide input for the competition. These meetings help the organizers provide the best educational experience possible for students and keep the competition running smoothly.
The Year 2 Winter FAB kicked off at McMaster University on Friday with a tour of their McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, which is the university’s state of the art testing and research facility. The McMaster team leaders also had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with competition organizers for further guidance with the competition.
The day concluded with McMaster’s Annual Stakeholder Dinner which showcased the progress of the McMaster team and honored their supporters. Attendees were able to enjoy good food, speak to EcoCAR participants and organizers, and hear updates from the team, their faculty and administration, and special remarks from AVTC Director, Kristen Wahl.
The FAB meeting continued on at the University of Waterloo. The FAB had the opportunity to provide feedback from the first half of Year 2, as well as carefully review each description for every scored event that will take place during the upcoming Year 2 competition. The UWAFT team also had the chance to sit down with competition organizers to discuss their progress and year-end goals for the team. They even had the opportunity to showcase their university with a tour for the FAB and organizers.
Capping off the weekend was a trip to the Elora Curling Club, where the FAB, Organizers, and UWAFT team leadership spent the evening partaking in a friendly competitive game on the ice. Curling is a popular sport in the country, and involves gliding a large stone down a path of ice to targeted section at the end. The Canadian hosts were happy to show their guests the ins and outs of the Olympic sport, and to close the meetings in a fun and interesting way.
Thank you the Year 2 FAB members, McMaster University, and the University of Waterloo for making the Winter FAB Meeting a success!
