Academic achievement celebrated at Dean's Awards
The annual Dean’s Awards were established by the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science to honour high academic achievement among undergraduates. This year’s recent awards ceremony did just that, gathering together achievers from the previous academic year for an evening of celebration on Concordia’s downtown campus.
Undergraduate students from the three tiers of the Dean’s List of Excellence were presented with monetary awards and special gifts from the Faculty in honour of their excellent academic achievements.
The awards ceremony, held January 29, also recognized the importance of innovative instruction, as it turned from honouring students to honouring a very special faculty member, Mamoun Medraj.
Since joining Concordia in 2002, Medraj has taught at all levels, bringing his passion for teaching and learning to all his classes. Dean Robin Drew – who was Medraj’s PhD supervisor – presented him with two commemorative plaques, joking, “I don’t think he learned anything from me about teaching!”
The next award presented was the Award of Distinction, which is given every year to a special alumnus or alumna in recognition of their innovative contributions to the community. This year’s recipient was Albert Carbone, who was awarded his BEng in 1981 and his MEng in ’84.
He was honoured to receive the award and spoke with great fondness of his time as a student here. He gave a succinct account of his rise in the business world, culminating in the founding of Stelvio Inc. in 1991, which has since grown to become a major multinational company.
“I started out working for others,” said Carbone in his inspirational speech to the assembled undergraduates, “and ended up working for myself.” He then presented deserving undergraduates with the Jaan Saber, Phoivos Ziogas Memorial Scholarship and the Stelvio Software Engineering Excellence Scholarship – endowed scholarships that he founded both personally and through his company.
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