KITCHENER - Conestoga College technology students believe they can make the world better and more efficient.

Practical, student-created, student-produced technical projects are the hallmark of final-year studies in many of Conestoga College's diploma programs in engineering technology and information technology. Sophisticated problem analysis and problem solving also characterize project work produced by students in Conestoga's four-year degree programs. Skills perfected in this way produce better-prepared graduates, ready to help employers move forward in an increasingly competitive and innovative economic environment.

Students from five programs will display, explain and answer questions about their work at the Conestoga Tech Showcase on Tuesday, August 12. Presentation of the projects will be in a trade show fashion, so that industry professionals can examine the projects, make inquiries and even use the opportunity to recruit these final-year students for employment.

In addition, the event is open to the public - admission and parking are free.

The Conestoga Tech Showcase takes place from 1-5 p.m. in the ATS Engineering Complex located at Conestoga*s Doon campus in Kitchener. Participating student teams are from three diploma programs of study: Mechanical Engineering Technology - Robotics and Automation, Mechanical Engineering Technology - Design and Analysis, and Computer Programmer/Analyst, and two Bachelor of Applied Technology programs: Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, and Telecommunication and Computer Technologies.

As part of Tech Showcase, three fully operational types of robotic assembly line will be on display. One will deal with a bottling-line process - pressurized liquid management, digital video inspection, labeling and packaging; the second will manufacture tea candles, formed from eco-friendly, soy-based wax; and the third will produce pin-back buttons, which can be personalized through use of an integrated camera.

All of these projects are designed to draw on the full range of skills these students have developed throughout their time at Conestoga, and emphasize teamwork as well as a comprehensive approach that includes concept development, feasibility studies, research, project management, analysis through consultation with professionals in the field, production, troubleshooting of problems, costing and budgeting, and full documentation of the project.

Many of the projects incorporate valuable lessons students have learned during periods of co-operative education in business and industry.

Other projects at the Conestoga Tech Showcase include, among many others, designs for a multipurpose front-end loader for a tractor, a hydraulic-powered firewood processor, an electric go-kart and an electric motor scooter; an automated refuse identifier separator for use by tenants in high-rise apartment/condominium buildings; an ecommerce website for purchasing homeopathic products; and a comprehensive website for managing personal finances.

All the participating students will be on hand to present, discuss and answer questions about their projects.