UOIT Mechanical Engineering and Management student shares top prize at national competition

UOIT fifth-year Bachelor of Engineering and Management student Mario Vasilescu has capped off his undergraduate work by sharing first place at Focus 2040, a national competition facilitated by the DeGroote School of Management at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Focus 2040 is open to undergraduate and master’s degree students across Canada and challenges them to envision the workplace in the year 2040.

Vasilescu’s partner, and friend since high school, for Focus 2040 was Cindy Chan, a Master of Accounting student at the University of Waterloo.

“We had wanted to try our hand at a business competition for a couple of years, but we are both quite involved with extracurricular activities and never found the time,” explains Vasilescu. “With both of us in our final year of university, we liked the concept behind Focus 2040 and decided it was now or never.”

Phase I of the competition in January asked entrants how the employee of 2040 will shape the world of work? The UOIT-Waterloo combination was among 25 teams that advanced to Phase II where teams were asked what the corporate structure will be in 2040. Only ten teams made it to the prestigious third phase, which asked what one breakthrough will revolutionize the world of work in 2040?

“We pitched our concept in 15 minutes to 10 top human resources and management professionals from industry and academia,” explains Vasilescu. “Our proposal was a radical new Intranet-based platform that would create an entrepreneurial workforce within the corporate ecosystem through an engaging, gamification-based interface. While satisfying the personality traits of the 2040 workforce we foresee, it is projected to reduce employee turnover and maximize employee development. It is also designed to perfect the science of team-building and optimize the management of human capital.”

Although a Mechanical Engineering major, Vasilescu actively practices branding and design in extracurricular projects. Focus 2040 allowed him to exercise those skills, and also be a trailblazer for UOIT.

“It was extremely rewarding to have the director of sales for Ford Canada approach me and tell me he loved the branding behind our concept,” adds Vasilescu. “Being both an Engineering major and a UOIT student, made me quite the curiosity at a competition that was otherwise dominated by Business majors primarily from older schools such as Schulich, Queen’s, UBC and Waterloo. I feel that I created a lot of interest in UOIT - at one point I even had a director of Human Resources at Royal Bank tell her assistant to make a note of investigating UOIT for recruitment.”

“UOIT congratulates Mario Vasilescu for not only being a winner in this extremely competitive event, but also for demonstrating dedication, perseverance and a collaborative vision that truly combined his engineering and management studies,” said Dr. Richard Marceau, provost and vice-president, Academic, UOIT. “Our mission at UOIT is to prepare students for the 21^st-century workplace and Mario’s success at Focus 2040 truly showcases a remarkable drive to be entrepreneurial and an innovative team-player – a skill set that all students should aspire to develop.”

To meet the growing demand for engineers with management skills, all programs offered by UOIT's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science provide for an innovative fifth-year management option. Students electing this option can complement their technical studies with business and management courses that are delivered by UOIT's Faculty of Business and Information Technology.