Only a few steps into the spacious Faculty of Sustainable Engineering Design building, you'll find a room lined with 3D printers, computer stations, and a row of photographs of smiling students—the student associates of the UPEI Engineering Success Centre.

"The Centre is founded in the servant-leadership model," says Dr. Elizabeth "Libby" Osgood, associate professor and academic advisor with UPEI's Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering. "Students from each year of the program are carefully selected as associates to represent the diversity of the student body. They initiate and run programs, and they identify how we can best support students."
 

The Engineering Success Centre (ESC) began in September of 2020, as students were faced with hybrid in-person/online learning in their classes. Today, the Center has about 10 student associates per semester supporting drop-in students, managing the Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) in mechanical design certification program, helping with mental health programs, and much more.

"The success is in the ongoing mentorship from one associate to the next, with most associates staying until they graduate." Dr. Osgood says. "They have the opportunity to develop their leadership on a long-term basis and take on more complex programs as they mature in the program."

Tin Nguyen is the Engineering Success Centre coordinator, working full-time with student associates.

"My primary role as a coordinator is to be a friendly, approachable resource for students seeking academic assistance, career advice, or discuss their concerns," he says. "I also take regular shifts to support the associates by facilitating study groups, organizing workshops on technical topics and soft skills like time management and interview preparation, and collaborating with the different departments within the university and Faculty to develop new initiatives."

"As I gained more skills, experience, and knowledge throughout the years in the Centre and FSDE I wanted to pass it along. This student leadership model is essential to the Centre's success because it encourages students to find solutions to problems they see in the Faculty that might not happen otherwise." - Becca MacIntyre, student associate

Tin says the work of Centre enhances many existing student supports within the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, but uses an empowering and valuable co-leadership model to help students organize and implement their own programs to deliver specific support to their peers.

"It boosts associates' confidence, and engages more Engineering students to be more knowledgeable, ensuring the Faculty can be sustainable with continuous improvements," he says. "An essential part of the Centre’s success is close relationships between faculty members, staff, and students that allow the Centre to become a bridge—it makes everything uniquely harmonious."

Other student associates describe similar experiences visiting the Centre as students, and becoming associates themselves.

"Dr. Osgood reached out to me at the beginning of my second year encouraging me to apply to the Success Centre," says Becca MacIntyre, who has been working as an Engineering Success Centre associate for three years. "As I gained more skills, experience, and knowledge throughout the years in the Centre and FSDE I wanted to pass it along. This student leadership model is essential to the Centre's success because it encourages students to find solutions to problems they see in the Faculty that might not happen otherwise."

Student associate Zac Mella became a first-year associate before he started his first day of classes. "I was recruited after a tour of the building when I first was looking into joining the engineering program," he says. "The Centre has become a quick and easy space for fellow students to come and get help, study, ask questions, or even just to say hi."

Third-year student Priya Succaram has been a student associate for two years. "Sometimes I talk to other students about the lunch and learn initiative we've started here, and encourage them to attend the sessions," she says. "I usually help first-years students with computer-assisted design (CAD), design reports, resumes, and dynamics problems, and I 3D-print anything sent to us."
 

"The Centre has helped me practice and strengthen my desire to lead and to be approachable, which has aided me in other aspects of my student experience," says Berry Genge, a fourth-year student and experienced student associate. "The right selection of associates is essential to the Centre’s success. Our associates have the right balance of experience and competence as well as that natural desire to lead. I also believe they must be seen as approachable, as otherwise students would not feel comfortable to come for help."

Dr. Osgood and the student associates of the Engineering Success Centre have been collecting participants' input since the Centre opened in 2020, proving the overwhelmingly positive effects this student-led initiative. In February 2023, Advances in Engineering Education Journal published an article titled "Shared Ownership of an Engineering Success Centre to Support Students and Develop Leaders", and student associates wrote a comprehensive case study and presented at a regional American Society of Engineering Education conference in April 2024.