Passionate about electric vehicles, Pierre Hinse rides an electric bicycle and drives an electric Ford 1998 pickup truck. At 48, he is also a mature student at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, in Oshawa, Ont., who went back to school after 20 years in industrial automation.

Next June, as one of 30 graduates from UOIT with a Masters of Applied Science and Engineering degree with a concentration in automotive engineering, Mr. Hinse intends to apply his skills and knowledge either in academic research or within the automotive industry.

"I want to become a specialist in electric transportation," says Mr. Hinse. "Smart engineers are looking at the market and how trends are evolving. They see that the transportation market is moving to high-efficiency, so they are developing sale-able skills."

In his view, the future points to hybrids (which require two power sources) and electric vehicles.

The so-called Big Three in the North American automotive industry may be going through the worst crises in decades, yet graduates such as Mr. Hinse embody the next generation of engineers that will drive its future. "I am looking ahead, beyond the next year. The market will need thousands of engineers because we will stop making gas guzzlers and will build high-efficiency cars."

Despite the industry downturn, several hundred students continue to enter specialized programs such as those at UOIT, or similar programs at McMaster University in Hamilton and University of Windsor. These numbers have been generally consistent.

"For the past four years, we've had about 80 students who specialize in automotive engineering," says Andrzej Sobiesiak, head of the mechanical, automotive and materials engineering department at University of Windsor.

"Being in automotive engineering can get you a job in many other areas, such as straight mechanical engineering, robotics, manufacturing, measurement and environmental issues," he adds.

Michael Bennett, associate dean, in the faculty of engineering at UOIT, confirms that automotive engineering enrolment remains robust. There were 69 students in the 2005 academic year, 82 in 2006, 79 in 2007 and 69 this academic year.

"That [range] is not so unusual. In most engineering programs, you can easily have a 10- to 20-per-cent change from year to year. It's based on market conditions, that students are sensitive to," says Dr. Bennett, noting that civil engineering enrolment tends to fluctuate more. "I am amazed it has not fallen off more. Automotive [engineering] is really quite strong."

What accounts for the consistency?

"It's an international operation," says Dr. Bennett, referring to the globalized auto industry. "Even in the worst-case scenario, and we close down General Motors, somebody has to build cars. You may have to go to India, or China. But there will be jobs, because they will need automotive engineers."

Saeid Habibi, chair of the mechanical engineering department at McMaster University, in Hamilton, maintains that interest in hybrid vehicles is a major factor behind the consistent enrolment at his campus.

"There is a lot of energy and excitement around hybrid cars and the promise they have," says Dr. Habibi.

There are about 40 students at the PhD level, 40 at the master's level and 40 undergraduate interns. "We have maintained these levels," says Dr. Habibi. "It's been stable from an educational standpoint."

Dr. Habibi attributes the consistency to research initiatives that began several years ago when the university developed joint programs with General Motors of Canada Ltd., such as the General Motors of Canada Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion and the GM of Canada Centre for Engineering Design.

Backed by more than $60-million in funding, "We have been able to maintain a high level of research activity," says Dr. Habibi.

Although new funding could be more difficult to secure in the current economic climate, McMaster's research is vital to the auto industry, argues Dr. Habibi. "These are strategically important to the market. They can't be cut back easily."

A year ago, these programs were expanded when McMaster began working with the University of Waterloo on the Initiative for Automotive Manufacturing Innovation. A five-year, $46-million project backed by the province of Ontario and a slew of industrial partners, it is focused on materials research.

"We are looking at high-strength steel, magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys, structural polymers, process technologies and research around casting," says Dr. Habibi, adding the new materials will help reduce the weight of vehicles.

The initiative is linked to the McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute, which was launched in 2000 with about $20-million in funding, partly from GM. "It's been an ongoing collaboration," says Dr. Habibi, adding that MMRI facility is extremely well-equipped in terms of precision machining and manufacturing research.

While students develop skills in researching new materials at university, first-hand experience is also crucial in landing employment. With that view in mind, the University of Windsor offers a co-op program where students develop contacts at work placements that they hope to tap on graduation.

For the past few years, only two or three out of 10 graduates have been hired by the Big Three auto makers, says Windsor's Dr. Sobiesiak. The majority found work at U.S. and Canadian auto parts manufacturers that either build components or sub-assemblies or conduct research and development in areas such as power trains and combustion systems.

While the parts makers are dependent on the Big Three's survival, "they are the ones who can make the changes and bring in more innovative power trains, for instance," says Dr. Sobiesiak. "Because they are smaller, they are also more flexible."

Meanwhile, the Big Three are also going through a personnel shift as some engineers have left to work at Japanese and German-owned car makers.

"I'm getting calls from the auto companies, saying, 'We've lost so many people to our competitors.' People jump ship when they think things are going badly, says Greg Rohrauer, assistant professor at UOIT, who is also academic director of the General Motors of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence.

"They [the Big Three] end up needing people, because many of their older engineers are retiring."

For his part, Mr. Hinse believes that engineers have to look forward and develop alternative technologies.

"I can't go to school and study today's car, so that when I come out I can be an expert at it. That won't work, because I'll miss the window [of opportunity]," says Mr. Hinse, who could not have predicted six years ago when he went back to school that the auto industry would undergo vast changes.

"In hindsight, I think that I've made the right decision and upgraded my skills," says Mr. Hinse. "The manufacturers will have to change the way they make cars, and they will need a lot of engineers to make those changes."

Special to The Globe and Mail