Engineering excellence
Two civil engineering PhD students took home top honours for the University of New Brunswick at a recent research conference.
Amy Vaillancourt and Anna Perreira presented papers at the 10th International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPGRC 2011), held at the University of Salford in Manchester, United Kingdom on Sept. 14 and 15.
Perreira was awarded the best conference paper for her work on “Knowledge Management Practices (KMPs) in Construction Oriented Non-Profit Volunteer Organisations (CONVOs)” and Vaillancourt received the best conference presentation for presenting her paper “Integrating Sustainability into Civil Engineering Curriculum.”
Perreira and Vaillancourt’s papers were selected from over 100 international submissions.
“The conference was a good experience for both of us, and we were lucky to have an encouraging audience,” Perreira said.
Learning the ropes together
Perreira and Vaillancourt started working on their PhDs on the same day: Sept. 2, 2010. Though they aren’t working on the same subject matter, both say that they’ve developed a good friendship through going through the academic process together.
“We don’t necessarily work or study together, even though our cubicles are adjacent to each other, but we give each other pointers,” Perreira said. “We have a good system in our Construction Engineering Management department, which provides a platform to give each other constructive criticism through bi-weekly meetings and presentations of our research progress.”
Vaillancourt said that the two have developed a good support system since meeting.
“The process of going through your PhD is continuously up and down all the time; you have to complete your course requirements, tailor your research topic, and write your proposal in a very short time frame, which is the hardest part,” she explained. “But I find that going through the process at the same time, we’re able to help each other.”
The two are even aiming for the same finishing date for their doctorates, which will be sometime in spring 2014.
Perreira, who has an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Guyana and a Master’s degree in urban planning from the University of the West Indies, is focusing her research on knowledge management in construction-oriented non-profit volunteer organizations, or CONVOs for short.
She got the motivation for this research when she worked for Habitat for Humanity in Trinidad, but then had to leave for an academic opportunity at McGill University, which was awarded to her as a CARICOM Young Leaders Scholarship.
“I wondered how the organization utilized my knowledge and expertise after I left,” Perriera said. “I’m trying to help CONVOs manage the knowledge from their temporary labour force and optimize them for as long as they can. My paper for the IPGRC focused on developing a conceptual framework to assess knowledge management practices in CONVOs, which I hope to validate by applying action research principles whilst collaborating with Eastern Canadian Habitat for Humanity affiliates.”
Vaillancourt, a self-described tree hugger, is researching the sustainability of municipalities. Specifically, her research aims to improve the environmental, social, and economic well-being of Canadian municipalities.
“My goal is to help one municipality in every province in Canada,” she said.
A supportive environment
Vaillancourt received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Brunswick before pursuing a Master’s of Sustainable Development at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She said that she was glad to return to UNB to complete her education.
“You really can’t beat Fredericton; it’s a nice, welcoming and the faculty here at UNB are very friendly,” she said.
Perreira, a native of Guyana, never thought that she’d end up in Fredericton for her education.
“I’m glad I came here because it’s such a supportive environment,” she said. “Professors may not know your name, but they’ll smile at you and say hello when you walk down the hall.”
Perreira is also especially pleased with the help that she’s receiving from her PhD supervisor, Professor Jeff Rankin.
“It’s good to have that support on your side,” she said. “He reads my papers two or three times before he’s satisfied with it and that’s really encouraging. I need him to be critical in his reviews and I’m really grateful for that.”
Contributed by Alanah Duffy, UNB Communications & Marketing.
