Sheridan helping Brampton ‘Get Creative’ with Tech Talks

STORY BY FILIPE DOS SANTOS

The Flower City is getting a boost from Sheridan in the creativity department.

On Dec. 3, Brampton will be hosting its third Tech Talk as part of its Heritage, Arts, Culture and Entertainment (HACE) program’s creative business initiative.

The Tech Talks, which started on Oct. 15, have exclusively featured Sheridan instructors.

Christopher Ferguson, professor of architectural technology at Davis Campus, will be speaking about his role in the renovation at Toronto’s Union Station.

“There’s a lot of great connections that can be made between issues of technology and science and industry in order to solve problems,” he said. “There’s an interest in creating bridges between industry and academia and the public.”

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Ferguson, who spent two years working on Union Station’s façade renovation with +VG Architects, said he was excited to be able to showcase his work to the public.

“I very quickly put my hand up. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he said.

It won’t be the first time Ferguson will be speaking to a crowd about his work. On Oct. 3 he gave a “mini-version” of his planned Union Station presentation at a Heritage Canada conference in Prince Edward Island.

Farzad Rayegani, associate dean of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and Technology, said Sheridan was approached by HACE to help with Brampton’s new B…Creative strategy.

“HACE recognizes that we have expertise here [at Sheridan],” Rayegani, who has also been a speaker in the talks, along with Mark Shufflebottom from the Interaction Design program. “In the future there will be other people involved, not only from Sheridan but the topic of these talks was creativity and technology and we tried to merge Brampton’s B…Creative with Sheridan’s Get Creative.”

There’s a lot of great connections that can be made between issues of technology and science and industry in order to solve problems, professor of architectural technology, Christopher Ferguson

Engaging with the community is one of Sheridan’s obligations, according to Rayegani. “We have a lot of resources here, students, faculty, technology, expertise and facilities, and a good way to engage with the community is to create dialogue,” he said.

Rayegani also believes it’s a good way for Sheridan to connect with people outside of the school and for students to learn something outside of the classroom.

“We’re doing a lot of research here, we’re doing a lot of industrial work here in the campus but until we take it to the community it doesn’t have real value,” Rayegani said.

Ferguson hopes some of his students will be able to find the time to attend as well.

“They get to hear about a project I’ve worked on, as opposed to me glazing over lessons,” he said. “It’s more relaxed, so they can just sit back and listen.”

Brampton’s third Tech Talk will take place at Alderlea, 40 Elizabeth Street South from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be a free event, open to the public.