The Futures of Engineering Accreditation project published a report sharing back findings from a recent project event that gathered 90 diverse voices across the engineering ecosystem.

Last November, Engineers Canada’s Futures of Engineering Accreditation (Strategic Priority 1.1: Investigate and validate the purpose and scope of accreditation) project hosted a two-day foresight session in Toronto. The session brought together the insights, perspectives, and worries of various members of the engineering profession, including engineers, educators, students, engineers-in-training (EITs), and people who work with engineers. This event marked a significant project milestone.

After collecting data from the many compelling activities and discussions, we gathered valuable perspectives and observations. The foresight session event journal reveals key findings from the session, such as perceptions of the current state of the engineering profession, the engineering community, potential futures of the profession, and challenges that exist or that could exist.

The event journal is segmented by exercises undertaken at the session and summarizes key themes and discussions. Day one focussed on understanding the existing state where participants engaged in activities where they defined engineering, thought about engineering as a metaphor, and mapped the engineering system from their perspective. Day two was future-focussed. Participants considered potential futures of the world and the engineering profession. In mixed stakeholder groups, participants were invited to explore how broader changes in the external environment could impact what tomorrow’s engineers might need to do. The event journal highlights the key skills, competencies, themes, and requirements that appeared in these discussions.

In synthesizing this information, we gained valuable insights that have advanced the project’s knowledge and research goals. We encourage you to review the reflections, key themes, charts, diagrams, and event photos in the journal. 

To learn more about the project or read more project reports, visit the updated website here.