Sustainable Buildings Canada is pleased to announce that in 2022 we will be supporting 3 college students in the pursuit of their educational goals. After a review of potential candidates, SBC has selected the following individuals as recipients of a $1,000 bursary:

1. Breanne Belitski
2. Omkar Nitin Devasthali
3. Melina Sirati

Candidates for the bursary must be enrolled in a post-secondary education institution and provide proof of acceptance and enrolment. Programs eligible for the bursary should be focused in engineering, environmental, building science and planning, or trades training that support those disciplines, however candidates in other disciplines that support the industry in areas such as policy, law and finance are also be considered. Candidates should have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a career in the sector and have experience volunteering or supporting SBC programs and initiatives. The Board of SBC selects candidates at its sole discretion on the basis of recommendations from stakeholders, partners and academia.

Breanne Belitski

Breanne Belitski is a builder, grower, and maker. A graduate of University of Toronto, she spent the following years developing a wide range of skills and hobbies and traveling extensively. Our world is currently facing the intense pressures of climate crisis and housing insecurity. It seems obvious that the problems should be addressed simultaneously. Breanne is dedicated towards finding solutions for a housing crisis that respect the environment today, and for years to come. The Sustainable Building’s Canada grant will assist towards the completion of a Master’s of Building Science at Ryerson University (renaming in progress), where she hopes to learn a number of strategies and ideas to make housing more affordable for people, while being respectful of the planet we all share.

Omkar Nitin Devasthali

Omkar Nitin Devasthali is currently a student of the Project Management Environmental (PME) program in Seneca College. He is quite passionate about the Construction Industry and has completed his Bachelors in Civil Engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University, India and Construction Project Management Program from Canadore College, Canada where he was a recipient of the Program Achievement Award. He began his journey at Seneca to gain skills towards building resilient and sustainable infrastructure. He has worked in estimation and project engineering departments on projects spread across India, USA and Canada and expects to advance his career in sustainable management of construction projects.

Melina Sirati

Melina Sirati holds a BSc (2018) in Mechanical Engineering from K. N. Toosi University of Technology in Iran. She is currently an MSc student in the Civil Engineering department at Carleton University. She started her research in Summer 2021 by focusing on human and buildings interaction. Her study aims to find the impact of teleworking (working from home) and partial occupancy on energy consumption and GHG emissions, focusing on residential buildings. To this end, her research investigates the effect of thermal zoning, HVAC control configuration, occupant behavior, and use of smart thermostats on energy consumption and thermal comfort with partial occupancy. Her findings can lead to considering partial-time or full-time teleworking as a future lifestyle. Furthermore, she is trying to answer this question: Is it beneficial to design homes with more than one thermal zone?

Check out the 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 & 2016 Student Bursary Awardees.