Ahead of the upcoming fall Board meetings, key committees of the Board recently met in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

A scene of a newfoundland villageAhead of the the upcoming fall Board meeting on October 3 and 4, 2019, key committees of the Board recently met in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador last week. Here are some of the highlights:

The Accreditation Board (CEAB) met in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on September 14, 2019. The agenda included the election of a new vice-chair, whose term will be confirmed at the October Board meeting and begin on July 1, 2020. Members also discussed upcoming visiting team chair assignments and approved visiting team documentation and tools for the 2019-2020 visit cycle. Finally, the group watched and engaged with presentations from stakeholder groups, including the NCDEAS, the CFES, the CEQB. Also included in this, was a special presentation on diversity and inclusion.

On September 15, the CEAB participated in a half-day workshop titled “How to Chair a Visit”. The workshop was interactive, drawing on the experiences of CEAB members who shared good practices through scenario-based learning experiences. In preparation for the 2019/2020 visit cycle, the workshop also outlined recent changes to criteria, policies, and procedures.

 The Qualifications Board (CEQB) met on September 16, 2019 and approved several items:

  • The “White paper on environmental engineering” and the “Regulator guideline on the use of syllabi” to be sent to the Engineers Canada Board for final approval.
  • The revised “Public guideline on risk management”, the website content on entrepreneurship, and the basic studies, computer, software, and biomedical syllabi to be sent for regulator consultation
  • That the forest and structural engineering syllabi be rescinded and archived

The CEQB also discussed its contribution to diversity and inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the profession, as well as the CEAB’s proposed new curriculum content measurement and definition of engineering design.

On September 16 and 17, 2019, National Admissions Officials Group met and covered several items:

  • A discussion of the group members’ own practices and challenges
  • Updates on the Engineers Canada newcomers website, international institutions and degrees database, and national membership databases
  • A review of existing international mutual recognition agreements and the licensing processes of the signatories
  • A discussion of the competency-based assessment project, Canadian environment competencies, and confidence-based applicant profiles, as well as the challenges of licensing entrepreneurs
  • Updates from the CEAB and the CEQB, followed by feedback on the groups’ work

Finally, the competency-based assessment project team’s User Steering Group met on Thursday September 18 to review project status, direct further development of the Canadian environment competencies, and consider implementation in their own jurisdictions.

Now that these meetings are complete, their outcomes will feed into key work for Engineers Canada and its committees, as well as the Engineers Canada Board, in the coming months.