What is the most important thing about success? Could it be prizes, academic or peer recognitions or the confirmation of one’s own ability?
For Cedric Eveleigh, it is about learning. “I've learned that doing the things that I’m afraid of is always worth it in the long run”, says the 3rd year mechanical engineering student who recently won the uOttawa Elevator Pitch competition in the category 'Drive'. With a background in research, Cedric has gained substantial experience as a research assistant in materials engineering. Last October, along with his colleague of uOttawa team, this student won second place in the Valeo Innovation Challenge of which a new business seems to be on the horizon.
Eveleigh’s victory did not go unnoticed at the Faculty. “Congratulations Cedric for winning the Elevator Pitch in the category 'Drive'. We are all very proud of you and your success brings honour to our entire Faculty”, says Dean Claude Laguë.
Cedric Eveleigh shares his experience about the Elevator Pitch competition and his student life
What does this competition mean to you?
Being able to pitch is a valuable skill for what I plan on doing in life. It’s also something that I was afraid of doing and I've learned that doing the things that I’m afraid of is always worth it in the long run.
Your pitch project is directly related to the award-winning project presented at the Valeo Challenge in Paris. Can you tell us more about this project and why you choose it for your pitch? I chose this project because it’s something that we've already validated and because we’re considering creating a business out of it. Essentially, we developed a new energy storage system for electric cars that uses batteries, ultra-capacitors and the GPS location of the car to optimize the use of both of those energy storage technologies.
How did you get ready for this competition? Does your participation in the Valeo Challenge help in this regard? Successfully presenting in front of the CEO of Valeo and other impressive people in Paris definitely helped my confidence. To get ready for the competition, I did a bit of yoga and I took a nice nap. Joking aside, I practiced a lot.
What would be your advice to any student willing to participate in the Elevator Pitch Competition?
Do it! Practice a lot and have fun.
How did the Faculty support you in winning this competition?
The biggest way that the Faculty helped me is by offering a course in entrepreneurship (with Dr. Hanan Anis). It got me involved and made me realize the potential of entrepreneurship.
With all your school and extracurricular activities, do you have time for hobbies?
I’m a big fan of sports that combine adrenaline and seeing how awesome nature is. I've spent my whole life mountain biking, downhill skiing and sailing. I also play squash during the school months and I’m always looking for partners!
Congratulations Cedric on your well-deserved victory!
Congratulations as well to the following students who took part in the competition!
- Mona Hafez: Masters in Electronic Business Technologies
- Alexandre Haddad, Jean-Kervens Pierre, Liban Ali Osman: Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, 4th year, Semi-Autonomous Recon Drone
- Mathieu Jobin: Software engineering, 4th year, Personalized meal planning