George Brown College has established a new partnership with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) that signals a new chapter at the college literally.
ASHRAE is a global professional association for those who work in, and seek to advance, the art and science of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems design and construction. George Brown has launched an ASHRAE student chapter, allowing our students to tap into this vast network of experts.
Lester Druiven, a longtime instructor with George Brown's Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Technician program, helped shepherd the student-chapter creation process, and will serve as our in-house ASHRAE faculty lead.
"A student chapter opens doors locally and world wide, and provides a wide range of career opportunities in HVAC, building automation, engineering, and even with the association itself," says Druiven.
While George Brown's current ASHRAE members are primarily in HVAC programs, efforts are underway to extend these benefits to students from other CCET programs as well.
Denise Devlin-Li, Chair, School of Apprenticeship and Skilled Trades, says students and faculty members alike will benefit from this partnership.
"ASHRAE has over 56,000 members across 132 nations. Our students and faculty will be exposed to cutting-edge technologies and opportunities from all over the globe."
George Brown is also set to host its first ASHRAE conference here in May, which, according to Claudius Brown, Director, Partnerships, is no small feat.
"Bringing an ASHRAE event here in the first few months of membership is a big deal," says Brown. "In a sense, it gives us an opportunity to bring the world to us. ASHRAE members will now recognize us, and see who we are, as we grow this partnership with them."
