From January 15 to 17, 2016, the Engineering Change Lab held its fourth workshop, in conjunction with Engineers Without Borders Canada’s XChange Conference in Hamilton, Ont.
From January 15 to 17, 2016, the Engineering Change Lab held its fourth workshop, in conjunction with Engineers Without Borders Canada’s XChange Conference in Hamilton, Ont.
The three-day workshop saw 40 senior leaders (CEOs, VPs, Deans and Directors) representing 35 organizations from across the engineering profession working together to unlock the full potential of the engineering profession to benefit society.
Much progress has been made in the first year of the Change Lab and this workshop was a chance to really put things into motion. Participants heard from Michel Gelobter, author of the recent book Lean Startups for Social Change: The Revolutionary Path to Big Impact, co-facilitated the workshop and presented the “lean startup” approach, which is driving unprecedented innovation in start-ups and large organizations.
Using the lean startup approach and applying it in a social setting, rather than a business one, the Engineering Change Lab participants then began testing ideas and strategies to ultimately unlock the higher potential of the profession.
There were also several members of the Change Lab running sessions during conference through the Engineering and Society stream, which engaged a lot of attendees from students to executives, allowing them to tryout first-hand some of their hypotheses.
The Engineering Change Lab was co-convened by Engineers Canada and Engineers Without Borders Canada and held its first workshop in January 2015. The Lab is a platform for collaboration to allow individuals and organizations from across the engineering profession to take action to address the system challenges that have been holding back the profession’s full potential.
For more information on the Change Lab, please visit: https://www.engineerscanada.ca/change-lab
