Engineering student receives inaugural $15,000 USD fellowship
Bjorn Vors, a U of S civil engineering student from Tisdale, Saskatchewan, has been awarded the inaugural Daniel W. Falconer ACI Student Fellowship for the 2017/2018 academic year.
In addition to $15,000 (USD), Bjorn has the opportunity to intern at The American concrete institute in Farmington Hills, MI and is invited as a guest of the ACI Foundation to their concrete conventions this fall and next spring in Anaheim and Salt Lake City.
Bjorn competed against other students from across North America to earn the fellowship, after being nominated by his civil engineering professor, Lisa Feldman. He wrote an essay that saw him short-listed among numerous other students. That earned him an expense-paid trip to Detroit MI, where he and the other short-listed candidates faced a panel interview.
While the money will certainly help Bjorn pursue his M.Sc. with less financial pressure, this fellowship offers him numerous, substantial opportunities. In particular, the two conventions will provide learning and networking opportunities, as well, he will benefit from an industry mentor who will help him in professional development during the fellowship period. His final task as part of the award requirements will be to submit a report on the fellowship towards the end of the year.