Alex Pavlik

Meet Alex Pavlik:

About Alex

Alex Pavlik is a third year Mechanical Engineering Co-op student at U of G. Alex made such a large impact in his first 4-month work term with Linamar, that he was nominated for Co-op Student of the Year. At Linamar, he worked on projects including cycle time studies, quality investigations, PFMEAs, and design projects. Alex shares a day-in-the-life at Linamar, his favourite parts about co-op, what impact he thinks Engineers can have on the world through collective action, and what National Engineering Month means to him.

What was your role at Linamar? What did you do in this role?

“I was hired at Linamar as a manufacturing engineering coop. I was a bit of a jack of all trades. I worked on several different types of projects including cycle time studies, quality investigations, PFMEAs, and design projects. I spent half of my term working on one of the high-volume production lines, and then I switched to a major design project for the last two months.”

What does a day-in-the-life look like for you at Linamar?

“Every morning started with a fast response meeting where I met with members from the engineering, production, and quality departments to discuss current and future roadblocks facing the production line. From there each day brought new experiences and challenges as I worked to keep production running efficiently. I spent a lot of my time, especially in the last couple months, working in SolidWorks.”

What was your favourite part about working at Linamar?

“My favourite thing about working at Linamar was the opportunity to play a major role in designing an autonomous gauging system to ensure no parts were shipped with any quality defects. It was a fantastic challenge that pushed my abilities and taught me a lot about design and automation.”

What's the best part about co-op for you?

“For me, the best part about co-op is the opportunity to learn from so many different people and to experience many different facets of the engineering industry. The opportunity to try different types of jobs out before I settle onto my career path is invaluable.”

In your opinion, what impact do Engineers have in the world? 

“I believe engineers make more of an impact as a profession than the sum of each individuals’ actions. Engineering, as a whole, sets a standard for safety, accountability, and sustainability that permeates through the world. Engineers are constantly pushing the envelope to create a better, safer world for everyone.”

Why did you choose Engineering at U of G?

“I’ve known I wanted to be an engineer for as long as I can remember. However, there were three things that made U of G as my number one choice for university: the friendly, relaxed atmosphere, the co-op program, and, most importantly, the food.”

What does National Engineering Month mean to you?

“National Engineering Month means recognizing the hard work engineers do to ensure a bright and safe present and future. I think it is also a time to reflect on the issues still facing the world and what we can do individually and collectively to fix them. Hopefully, between these two we can also inspire the next generation of engineers to begin their journey.”