At the end of November, Engineers Canada joined its strategic partner, the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES), by participating in the national CFES Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE), hosted this year by Western University.
“Engineers Canada’s partnership with the CFES has spanned many years, reflected in our role as a participant in—and Legacy Sponsor of—CDE. CDE comes at a pivotal time. Current events are reinforcing the importance of creating and maintaining inclusive, diverse and equitable cultures in our educational institutions and our workplaces.”, said Jeanette Southwood, P.Eng., Engineers Canada’s Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships.
This year’s CDE theme was “Re-Imagining Engineering” with subtopics focused on “Re-Learn”, “Re-Create”, and “Re-Engage”. Southwood was joined by Philip Rizcallah, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer of Engineers Canada to make the opening remarks after which Rizcallah provided a keynote on accessibility, given his previous role as CEO and Deputy Head of Accessibility Standards Canada.
On Sunday afternoon, Southwood co-facilitated a workshop on the pathway to licensure alongside recently licensed engineer, Johanna Friend, P.Eng. At the gala later that day, Southwood introduced video remarks by Michael Wrinch, P.Eng., President of Engineers Canada’s Board, where he discussed the importance of having a diverse workforce, viewpoints, and experiences in order to create the best possible products and services, and the importance of collaboration in general within the engineering profession.
This year’s sessions also consisted of a breadth of topics in relation to the theme of Re-Imagining Engineering, including: uncovering and addressing data biases in engineering; gender equity in engineering design; Indigenous engagement; marginalized voices in engineering; accessibility design for natural disasters; and fairness in AI modelling as well as the “Omar and Omar Fireside Chat” between Member of Parliament Omar Alghabra and Omar Sayyed, President of the Undergraduate Engineering Society at Western University. Overall, Engineers Canada was pleased to speak and interact with the more than 200 engineering student leaders from across Canada who participated in CFES CDE.
