Education

2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017 THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG Above left: In autumn 2017, Dean Dias visits a bakery in Bogota, Columbia, which uses Canadian wheat. Above right: A UWinnipeg weather balloon launch in spring 2016. Above: Stefanie Sheard and Benoit Morham inspect elm trees in summer 2017. Supplied photos EDUCATION WITH IMPACT By Diane Poulin for the Free Press Students come to The University of Winnipeg to follow their passions. Whether they pursue degrees in science, the arts, kinesiology, business or teacher education, they benefit from small class sizes where professors know their names. They also have the opportunity to tackle "real-world" research projects that make an impact in the community. As a result, UWinnipeg graduates emerge well prepared to make a positive difference on the world around them. This past summer, science student Stefanie Sheard fell in love with trees. In partnership with the City of Winnipeg, a team of UWinnipeg students was hired to do field research about Dutch elm disease. Stefanie worked in the Wolseley neighbourhood where she discovered "people are passionate about our elm trees — this research matters." Her team was tasked with finding elms that are "super shedders," that is: crawling with diseased beetles. Earlier identification and removal of these trees improves the rate at which the spread of Dutch elm disease can be slowed. "It is great to have students so involved," said Sheard. "I really felt I was making a difference." Dean Dias has had a busy autumn flying off to visit customers in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Algeria, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and Italy. As a director with the Canadian International Grains Institute, he builds relationships with people from around the globe to ensure Canadian wheat gets to market. "People may not realize that when it comes to agriculture, Winnipeg is the hub. We are feeding the world," said Dias, who graduated from UWinnipeg with a Bachelor in Business Administration just a few years after moving here from Mumbai, India. He credits UWinnipeg with fostering teamwork, an essential skill in business. "My classes at UWinnipeg were very interactive and project-based with simulations. You realize that not everyone thinks the same, and that is critical to understanding how to work with others. I learned a lot of people-management skills at UWinnipeg." Flying balloons is fun, but it is also serious research that helps gather important data on barometric pressure, air temperature, acceleration, angular rotation and the Earth's magnetic field. A UWinnipeg team of geography and environmental studies students will launch a high-altitude weather balloon at FortWhyte Alive again this spring. Jeremy Leathers is poised to graduate with a double-major in biology and geography and is part of the UW Cloud Punchers team. "It is neat to watch this gigantic balloon filling up with helium, and then it just shoots upward when you let it go," he said. "It's equipped with a GoPro camera and that brought back really interesting video and pictures, including images of the curvature of the earth." The UWinnipeg balloon is part of an international initiative called the Global Space Balloon Challenge and a national project called the Canada-Wide High Altitude Balloon Experiment, with all of the teams launching balloons during the third week of April. Discover all of the programs that deliver education with impact at uwinnipeg.ca ❚ UWinnipeg students have the opportunity to tackle "real-world" research projects that make an impact in the community. Photo by Cory Aronec Photography It is great to have students so involved. I really felt I was making a difference."

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