Engineers Canada - A Message from the President
President, Engineers Canada
The past year and a half has been a period of forward momentum for Engineers Canada. Our programs showcase the profession both on the national and international stage, and we are proud to share information regarding our activities in a timely fashion with members of our constituent members’ councils. My hope is that my president’s messages will be one tool to effectively meet this objective.
Internationally, for example, Engineers Canada has assumed the position of chair of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations’ Committee on Engineering and the Environment for the next four-year term. Nationally, the May 2008 annual general meeting and the subsequent Board of Directors workshop highlighted several priority items for Engineers Canada. To provide a brief update of several projects’ activities:
- Speakers for the 2009 Engineering Summit Leading a Canadian Future: The New Engineer in Society are currently being confirmed and a systematic marketing campaign including direct mail and web banners provided to sponsors will soon be implemented.
- The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board has developed a framework
that is intended to facilitate the implementation of the new accreditation
criteria approved in May for working towards an outcome-based assessment
system by 2010. - Engineers Canada has been working with federal officials to ensure that the
federal government understands the engineering profession’s leadership
role in addressing the mobility issue. Within the profession itself, the priority
for 2008 is the development of a national standard aimed at consistency. - New approach to address roles, direction and sustainable funding for
national projects. - The Women in Engineering Task Force has been working on establishing
priorities, actions, and resource requirements, and will be presenting its
recommendations to the Board of Directors at their May 2009 meeting.
Our efforts gain efficiency through working in collaboration with our constituent members and the sharing of best practices. In fact, the national campaign to promote our profession currently being developed is greatly benefiting from having communications staff from five of the constituent members as full voting participants on the Campaign Advisory Committee. We have seen the trusted advisor position of our profession slide due in part to the positive promotion of other professions and our reluctance to be assertive in this area. It is up to the engineering profession to invest in itself and to make the case regarding its value—no one else is going to make it for us.
By creating a theme that can be utilized nationally, the collaborative campaign will work in synergy with the efforts of the constituent members, and I look forward to positive discussions regarding the campaign during the October Board meeting.
In closing, my thanks go to the Board of Directors and I deeply acknowledge the countless hours volunteered by association members. It is because of you that Engineers Canada is able to pursue its mandate so effectively. As president, I have had the distinct privilege of meeting many of you and I look forward to further collaboration as we work towards our mutual goals and objectives.