The Humber Polytechnic community is cheering on two of its own who are heading to France to compete against the best from around the globe at the 47th WorldSkills Competition.

Neal Mohammed, director of the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation (Barrett CTI), was effusive in his praise for “superstars” Paxton Coghlin and Dillon Kong during a send-off for the two who are heading to Lyon, France for the competition that runs September 10-15. They will be competing in the Mechatronics division after qualifying by winning a gold medal at Skills Canada last year, where they also received the RBC Best of Region Award for Ontario.

Coghlin is a second-year student in the Electromechanical Engineering Technology program while Kong just graduated from the program. The two thanked those who have encouraged them throughout their journey, including their coaches and Mohammed, for their unwavering support.

“We’re genuinely thankful for everyone who came out today,” said Kong. “All of our success along the way has been thanks to the people in this room. We couldn’t have done it with you.”

The pair will be bringing good luck from Humber with them to France in the form of a Humber flag that had words of encouragement and signatures from the community.

“Thank you to everyone for all you have done to help our training and for pushing us to be successful,” said Coghlin. “We’re representing our country on the world stage, and we hope to make everyone proud. If everything goes to plan, we’ll bring back the gold along with lifelong memories and friends.”

Humber teams have previously won gold at WorldSkills Americas in Brazil and bronze at WorldSkills International when it was held in Abu Dhabi. Mohammed said this is the fourth time Humber has sent competitors to WorldSkills.

Humber holds the distinction of being the only post-secondary institution in North America to win a medal in mechatronics at WorldSkills International.

“Paxton and Dillon, your brilliance is a shining example and a testament to all who dream big and work tirelessly to achieve their goals," said Humber president and CEO Ann Marie Vaughan. "We believe in you. Your success is our success, and your journey will inspire future generations of students to chase their dreams. Best of luck to both of you. I know you will make all of us proud."

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field that refers to the integration of skill sets in mechanics, electrical, electronics, pneumatics, programming, robotics and control systems needed in the advanced automated manufacturing industry.

Coghlin and Kong have been partners since November 2022 and that partnership has proven fruitful as they finished first at Skills competitions at the Humber, provincial and national levels. The two stayed sharp by training at the Barrett CTI in anticipation of WorldSkills.

“Skills competitions at the world level is a completely different game,” Kong previously told Humber Today. “We’ve been training for WorldSkills since the beginning.”   

Regardless of their finish at WorldSkills, the two have already accomplished great things, said Gina Antonacci, Humber’s senior vice-president, Academic.

“You have already won – you’re competing on the world stage and very few can say that,” said Antonacci.

More information about WorldSkills can be found at the event’s website.

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