Alumni Spotlight: Sonia Tsang
While a student in the MEL in High Performance Buildings program, Sonia Tsang developed a design for a multipurpose building in the Arctic and made recommendations to a municipality on its zero emissions buildings policy. She’s now working as an energy efficiency and sustainability specialist, developing energy models to help clients reduce energy consumption and costs.
After graduating from the University of Nottingham with a degree focusing on the sustainable built environment, Sonia Tsang returned to Hong Kong where she worked for several national and multinational consulting firms over a period of almost 10 years. As a senior consultant with WSP in Asia, she had a multifaceted role that included energy modelling, coordinating with clients and conducting audits to ensure buildings complied with green building certification standards and the local building code.
One notable project was working on an organic waste treatment facility, which used food waste as an input to produce energy. “I was part of this project from the construction stage all the way to when it was up and running,” she says.
“I needed to understand how the whole system worked, which was quite complex, including how the building itself was served by the energy produced by the plant’s processes.”
In the early 2020s, Sonia began exploring options for a master’s degree, motivated by a desire to expand her knowledge of the building sector, gain a deeper understanding of business and project management, and learn more about the sustainability issues that are shaping the industry.
An interdisciplinary education
The Master of Engineering Leadership in High Performance Buildings combines sector-specific courses with courses on business and leadership. For her capstone course on new building design, Sonia worked with three other students to design a multipurpose building for the world’s northernmost airport, in Nunavut. The students worked with the Department of National Defence to develop a concept design and energy model for the building. (Read about their project, including the group’s strategies to achieve low-carbon goals and future-proof the building to anticipate the impacts of climate change.)
MEL students take a range of business courses that cover topics in organizational leadership, strategy and innovation, analytics and business acumen.
Sonia says that one reason she chose the MEL was to learn more about non-technical areas.
“I have lots of experience being the technical person a team and I could see the value of expanding my knowledge of budgeting, people management and business development.”
One highlight of her year at UBC was being selected for UBC Sustainability Scholars Program, which matches UBC graduate students with partner organizations to work on sustainability projects. Sonia worked with the City of Port Moody to develop recommendations for a zero emissions municipal buildings policy. She evaluated policies in place at other municipalities, interviewed experts in the field and made a series of recommendations for the City of Port Moody to reduce energy use in City-owned properties.
Building her career in Canada
The MEL supports its students with career services, including career development workshops, one-on-one coaching and networking events. Sonia says that a workshop on developing a strong CV and cover letter proved very helpful in landing the Sustainability Scholars position – which enabled her to gain relevant Canadian experience. She then attended an industry networking event in the fall, which led to a job offer and a position at Omicron where she worked as a building performance designer.
In July 2024, Sonia began working for WSP Canada as an energy efficiency and sustainability specialist.
“I am doing energy modelling and energy audits, similar to my role in Hong Kong,” she says. With most of the team based out of Montreal, Sonia is the go-to person for site visits of project in West Canada.
Sonia says the MEL was well worth the investment in terms of helping her gain new skills, learn about Canadian building codes and practices and grow her professional network.
“Having a master’s degree from UBC certainly gave me the credibility to work in Canada,” she says. “If you’re considering this program, do take advantage of the career services and explore opportunities to gain project experience, like through Sustainability Scholars. Also, be prepared – it’s an intense year and you won’t have a lot of free time!”
