"Remember, engineers are solving problems with people and for people."
Harsh Chhatwal
- Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
- Grad year: 2013
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
Job: Manager of Technical Growth at Teck Resources Limited
How did you end up studying computer engineering at UBC?
It certainly wasn’t a straight path! I wanted to study medicine – but with 800,000 applicants for 2,000 seats in India I couldn’t beat the odds. Engineering was a second choice. I did two years of computer engineering at a university in India that had a transfer program set up with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. But then about two weeks before I submitted my transfer application a friend walked into my dorm room and asked if I’d ever heard of UBC. I googled it and was immediately intent on moving to Vancouver!
You started working for Teck right after you graduated and you’ve been with them ever since. Tell us how a computer engineer ended up at a mining company!
As the industry relations manager for the Engineering Undergraduate Society, I helped organize industry networking events. At one of these I met someone from human resources at Teck who encouraged me to look into opportunities at the company.
They flew me out to Fernie, in eastern BC, to see their mining operations and so I could familiarize myself with the position.
I just fell in love with the geography and the mountains. The Kootenays are absolutely gorgeous and it took me about a second to say yes to the opportunity. I have been with Teck ever since.
My first job was as a technical analyst for mining systems at the Elkview mine in Sparwood, which is about 30 minutes from Fernie. I was responsible for supporting, maintaining and troubleshooting a range of mining systems critical to production.
After five years at Sparwood I moved to Kamloops to take on the role of autonomous systems specialist and then eventually became the supervisor of mining automation systems. I was initially responsible for overseeing the deployment of the first batch of self-driving mining trucks in BC and the fastest global deployment of this technology at the time. These are 300 tonne trucks – the tires are twice my height! I then oversaw the implementation of other autonomous technology projects at other Teck sites and led the creation of the mining automation systems team.
What do you like best about your job?
The transition to a more sustainable planet can’t happen without copper and other minerals. I love the positive impact Teck can have by building copper mines and running its operations as sustainably and environmentally focused as possible. I love that I can be part of creating a more sustainable world. It’s also incredibly exciting to be working on new mines.
