Stories

2020 Hugh A. Krentz Exemplary Student Award Recipient: Farid Shigapov

Woman of Steel participant welding a T joint in the horizontal position using the Shielded Metal Arc welding process.

“One can easily devote his entire life to the world of welding, and I can readily say that I am willing to do so.”

The Hugh A. Krentz Exemplary Student Award was established in 2015 to support Canadian students entering their final year of study in a minimum two-year welding undergraduate program.  

Farid Shigapov
Pickering, Ontario
Conestoga College, Manufacturing Engineering Technology – Welding and Robotics

Welding has fascinated Farid Shigapov since he was a child growing up in Russia. He spent countless hours in his grandfather’s garage, experimenting with welding machines and helping with home projects. His interest grew as he learned more about advances in welding, including Soviet technological advances and welding in space. Following graduation from high school, he moved to Canada and pursued welding at Conestoga College. In his first year, Farid made the Dean’s Honour List at Conestoga for outstanding academic achievement.

Farid took time off from his education to support his family and gain hands-on experience in the industry. At Conestoga’s Welding Gala, he met the owner of Mariana Metal and was offered a full-time position. Over his four years there, Farid had the opportunity to demonstrate his existing technical aptitude and weave the theoretical elements of welding with real-world applications. Over time, he was entrusted with more sophisticated projects and successfully passed numerous CWB weld tests.

In 2019, Farid returned to Conestoga to continue his education. When he was a second-year student, he was invited to be a part of an innovative research project focused on Robotic Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing.

“We ‘printed’ metallic components using robotic GMAW with a standard ER70S-6 and low-alloy ER80S-Ni1 wires,” says Farid. “The printed blocks were later machined into coupons and tested using destructive and non-destructive methods.” He didn’t have a chance to complete the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he hopes to have the opportunity to do so during his final year.

With the CWB Conestoga College Student Chapter, Farid visited a few Ontario high schools to familiarize students with out-of-position GMAW and SMAW welding and liquid penetrant testing. “We had productive talks about a possibility of launching a career in welding—how rewarding it can be to fulfill yourself in trades,” says Farid.

Farid completed his second year of the program in April 2020 and received a Union Gas Engineering Award for academic achievement, community involvement and leadership. He went on to complete a co-op placement as a welding engineering assistant at Chemetics.

In the future, Farid sees himself as a welding engineering technologist, and hopes to build on his strong foundation of theoretical knowledge with practical experience and approach.

“After graduation I want to travel North America, work in different provinces and states, implementing mechanized and robotic techniques in various manufacturing environments,” he says. “One can easily devote his entire life to the world of welding, and I can readily say that I am willing to do so.”