FAST application process

Solar photovoltaic technology represents one of the fastest growing industries and the open source hardware movement (particularly RepRap 3-D printers) is exploding. At the same time food security has become a major issue globally between the dual impacts of climate destabilization and ongoing trade instability. As the Free Appropriate Sustainable Technology (FAST) Lab is on the cutting edge of three popular fields - entrance into the group is extremely competitive. We literally get dozens of email applications a week. That said, we are always looking for highly-motivated excellent students that share our research interests. Competitive graduate students need to be in the top 10% in grades and test scores (GRE 90th percentile scores are above 162 for verbal, 164 for quantitative, and 5 or higher in analytical writing. For international students - TOEFL scores >100, IELTS scores >7.5). Ideal applicants have a history and a portfolio already built up in the areas of our research or closely related areas. Undergraduate students should be in the top 10% in grades and generally have an A average.

Canada is the #1 destination for global talent, Western University is a top 1% global university, and Ivey is the #1 Business school in Canada and Dr. Pearce ranks in the top 0.1% in Academia. Please consider joining FAST -- one of the top research groups in the world!

Potential Graduate Students

Dr. Pearce is currently seeking students at the Ph.D and masters levels for research in open source solar photovoltaic systems, distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM), libre hardware and open source appropriate technology (OSAT) and resilient foods. Interested applicants should have a strong academic background and a demonstrated interest in our targeted fields of study.

  • Ph.D. and masters students are generally fully funded, both tuition and monthly stipends. Only the highest quality students interested in a masters degree will be considered. Students are generally ranked in the top 10% of their class or higher at an internationally-reputable institution and have undertaken some major project in applied sustainability before joining the group (e.g. organized Engineers Without Borders chapters at their former schools) or open hardware/software (e.g. founded a hackerspace).
  • Accelerated masters: We currently have a pathway for Western undergraduate students to join an “accelerated” version our MESc program immediately following their final BESc term. Exceptionally qualified students who are 3rd year now may be eligible to receive offers to the MESc program for May of the next year. Any student who receives an offer by August 31 before the start of their 4th or final year of undergraduate study, may be approved to take up to two graduate level courses during their undergrad, which can later be counted toward their MESc course requirements. This means that once they join the master’s program, they can spend less time on course work, more time on research, and potentially finish the MESc in less than 6 terms (i.e. in an accelerated fashion).
  • Dr. Pearce sometimes advises students on non-fully funded projects and in these case students are funded via hourly work or for 'bounties' (e.g. lump sums for the completion of a clearly defined deliverable)

Group Application Process

All of the work that our group does is in part or whole "free and open source" - see our category of Appropedia here. Appropedia is a wiki (editable website like Wikipedia) and the largest user-edited site on the web that concentrates on sustainability, poverty reduction, and appropriate technology. We work on developing a wide range of appropriate technologies and the reasons we use Appropedia are outlined in this paper

If after reading about our work you would like to join, please do the following:

  1. Set up your own user account on Appropedia (click the upper right on any page on the site).
  2. Create a user page to describe yourself by clicking on the red link of your username in the upper right after you have logged in, write about your background and projects that are relevant to Appropedia and FAST. Then add your picture. If you haven't used a wiki before see https://www.appropedia.org/Help:Editing. You can use these pages as examples.
    1. https://www.appropedia.org/User:J.M.Pearce
    2. https://www.appropedia.org/User:Aliaksei_Petsiuk
    3. https://www.appropedia.org/User:Khayibo
    4. https://www.appropedia.org/User:Jgwamuri
  3. Use your page to experiment and learn wiki markup. After you know what you are doing with wiki editing - then I would like you to write up a formal page on Appropedia for your most relevant and useful project to date in solar or open source hardware with links back to your existing work. FOSS developers - just do a splash page for your best work and link to your github or similar account.
  4. When this is done - send Dr. Pearce (joshua.pearce@uwo.ca) an email with the links to your user page, project page and your unofficial application materials grades/test scores. If you are qualified and a good match for an open funded project you will be contacted immediately.
  5. After you send it - if you meet all the requirements I will contact you for a Jitsi interview
  6. If the interview goes well I will encourage you to apply through the university here

We are both constantly looking for students and applying for funding - sometimes there is not match at the time - we are sorry that we do not always have positions.

Undergraduates

Coming to Western and a top student?

Undergraduates at Western can apply for positions in FAST in the same way as graduate students above.

  • Undergraduates that want time to do research during the year can take IE 4490A/B, IE 4491A/B - Integrated Engineering Research Project

This course is designed to provide undergraduate students with an introduction to engineering research, with the intent of encouraging them to continue to graduate school. Individual students are paired with a single instructor and provided with a range of research projects to choose from based on their shared interests. The projects are scaled so that they can be completed by a single student within a term of hard work, with the intent to publish at the end. The student and instructor collaborate to develop a specific project outline. Students start with a literature review, a basic outline of research attack and methodology, do the experiment or simulation and then write it up with the assistance of the instructor. Weekly meetings with the instructor provide guidance. By the end the course, students will have gained an understanding of how engineering research is conducted, and it is expected that most will be able to publish the results of their work. IE 4490A/B may be taken in any term and may be repeated for credit as IE 4491A/B, with the approval of the instructor and the undergraduate chair for the student’s engineering program.

  • In addition, we sometimes accept volunteers (The student should be able to access the Volunteer form on Kuali), visiting undergraduate student projects and also sometimes pay via hourly work or for 'bounties' (e.g. lump sums for the completion of a clearly defined deliverable)
  • We encourage non-UWO undergrads to visit for the summer, but they will have to apply for their own funding.

Notes for Undergraduates:

  • Or consider: a survey by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and other engineering societies found that during the recession - from 2011 to 2013 - the average salary rose almost 5% for engineers.
  • Or that engineering unemployment is just 1.9% and down to pre-recession levels, reports IEEE
  • Capstones: For Software, Luiz Capretz. For Electrical/Computer Jayshri Sabarinathan. For Mechatronics Abbas Samani

Education Level Average Income [1] Data source: U.S. Census

  • Less than 9th grade $26,293
  • 9th to 12th grade, no diploma $27,987
  • High school graduate (includes equivalency) $39,976
  • Some college, no degree $48,555
  • Associate's degree $51,161
  • Bachelor's degree $80,478
  • Bachelor's degree or more $91,892
  • Master's degree $98,268
  • Doctoral degree $141,178

Visiting Graduate Students

  • We have openings for visiting graduate students. Internships are unpaid (you must have your own funding) and must last at least 3 months. If interested, please send your CV and a statement of your research interests to Joshua Pearce (joshua.pearce@uwo.ca).
  • Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (students from ASEAN member countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam) https://international.uwo.ca/learning/staff_and_faculty/global_affairs_scholarships.html
  • Protocol after we talk: Go here.

https://grad.uwo.ca/doc/academic_services/visiting_exchange/VGSForm_InternationalStudents.pdf VISITING GRADUATE STUDENT (Research Only) PLAN For INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS - University of Western Ontario VISITING GRADUATE STUDENT (Research Only) PLAN For INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Form revised March 2017 General Information Visiting Graduate Students (VGS) are allowed to conduct research at the university but do not fall under an approved grad.uwo.ca

So it would go something like this:

  1. Review this link ^^ and get the home institution to draft a letter with the required info
  2. Send the items in the checklist to me and I will send on to Courtney
  3. From there we'll have to craft the invitation letter using the official wording.
  4. ECE grad associate chair (Aleks) signs off and we sent it to Western International

Effective May 1, 2025, VRO administrative fee has increased to $300. In addition, there is a new process in place with regard to inviting VRO students to Western and Research Security.

https://international.uwo.ca/visiting_scholars/visiting_research_only_students/

Before submitting complete application to Western International for an assessment and approval, the hosting supervisor would need to identify if there are any research security concerns regarding the VRO student. If one of the following declarations can NOT be checked, the supervisor must reach out to Research Security to consult if they can continue to invite this VRO to Western.

  • I declare that the home institution of the Visiting Research Students is not on the list of Named Research Organizations.
  • I declare that the area of research that I am supporting for this student is not deemed a Sensitive Technology Research Areas.

Upon approval from Research Security, the Supervisor can then proceed with preparing the VRO application and submitting it to Western International. The Research Security requirement has been incorporated in the VUGS Supervisor Declaration Form (NEW) and VGS Supervisor Declaration Form.

Please contact immig@uwo.ca if you have any questions. For more info on the above, please review Visiting Research Only (VRO) Students.

Postdocs

Apply with the same Appropedia user page and email as a PhD student, then after an interview with me, I would encourage you to review the SGPS Postdoctoral Appointment process at: https://grad.uwo.ca/postdoctoral_services/the_appointment_process.html

The next step would be to complete the online application form at: https://grad.uwo.ca/postdoctoral_services/scholarappointment/

Virtual Volunteer Students

  • We have a very few spots for virtual visiting students. This would be top students that are considering joining the research group formally in graduate school in the future and want to see what it is like - but can not be here physically now (normally due to Visas). Volunteers are not paid - but can co-author publications with us while they remain at their home institution. This is a form of research collaboration - normally international.

High School Students

Industry, Visiting Faculty and Visiting Scholars

We are eager to collaborate with industry in our research and currently house three visiting scholar positions and associated persons for industry (Christina Bobier). If interested, contact Joshua Pearce (joshua.pearce@uwo.ca). Visiting Faculty opportunities: https://www.uwo.ca/research/funding/internal/wrc.html

For visiting students: You will need to have a valid passport, ETA visa approved, and Mitacs invitation letter. You will enter Canada under short term (120-day) work permit exemption. Request a visitor record from CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) officer, at the time of arrival in Canada, with notation that you are entering Canada under “short term (120-day) work permit exemption for researchers”.

On arrival if international

Once you have arrived, please complete all the following steps in this order:


  • Upon arrival to Canada, please email Chris Bell cbell57@uwo.ca, at The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS), and attach either: A Valid Work Permit, or proof of entry to Canada (Visitor record, Passport stamp, or boarding pass).
  • Chris will respond with your activation details, and after 24 hours you are required to activate your email account through the following website: https://wts.uwo.ca/identity/identities_and_access/activation.html You will be prompted to enter your Student Number and Access Code included in the attachment.
  • If you have any questions about your stay in Canada, you can make an appointment with one of the Advisors at the International Student Centre. https://international.uwo.ca/studentservices/
  • After your email account is active, you will need to complete the steps to obtain your Western One Card. This card will be used for swipe entry into your lab. Please visit: https://registrar.uwo.ca/services/western_onecard_and_photo_standards.html. You will be notified when the card is ready for pick up-this usually takes 3-5 business days.
  • After you have picked up your card, please check in at the ECE office in TEB 279. Our office hours are Monday-Friday 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm.
  • Before you can access your lab, you will need to complete Health and Safety Training, this will only be available to you after all the above steps are complete. Please visit https://www.uwo.ca/hr/learning/required/index.html for the list of required training modules and the instructions to enroll through OWL Sakai. After you have completed all the training modules, please send your certificates to cfredett@uwo.ca. If you have any questions or difficulty with the training, please feel free to reach out and I will be happy to help.
  • Your lab access will be available 3-5 days after you submit your certificates. Please note that you are not permit

ted to work in lab until training is completed.

Volunteers

Work study

  • Work study students must submit their hours weekly through the University's Kuali system. Every day put the number of hours worked and a short bullet point summary of tasks. Make sure to put the total in for the week as this is what allocates your pay. For the Sunday text portion please put in the Total WS hours you have remaining, minus those worked this week and the remaining left for future weeks. You may not go over your hour totals.

Western rules

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Authors Joshua M. Pearce
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Cite as Joshua M. Pearce (2021–2025). "FAST application process". Appropedia. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
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