On the weekend of September 22nd-24th I attended the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students Presidents’ Meeting (CFES PM). At this meeting, there was a lot of great ideas shared, and initiatives discussed. One of the main initiatives discussed was the formation of CIESO (Coalition of International Engineering Student Organizations), and the development of an international engineering competition. This will be a joint effort between the CFES, Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), National Association of Engineering Student Councils (NAESC), and a German non-profit student organization, bonding. All organizations will work to elect a Board Executives for CIESO by March 2018, and any members from any of the partner organizations (that means all engineering students in Canada), are allowed to apply for these positions. Once the board is elected and the governing documents are finalized, the first initiative will be revitalizing the International Engineering Competition (IEC) last hosted in Calgary in 2013. This is an incredible plan which will lead to a lot of collaboration not only between engineering students, but also between cultures, which is very exciting.
Another development in the works, is the national survey that was sent out to all engineering schools across Canada. By January 2018, a report will be created, and then presented to the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NCDEAS) at their next general meeting. This report will summarize various data collected on mental health, work load, language electives, and co-op programs. The goal of this report is to bring forward a stance that encompasses the thoughts of nearly all engineering students across Canada and ultimately bring more awareness to the decline in mental health of engineering students due to enormous workload, allow for improved co-op programs, and elective choices. This, as you can imagine, will be a powerful statement for students to make to NCDEAS.
Next month, the Professional Engineers of Ontario – Student Conference, and Conference on Diversity in Engineering will be held. This will be a great experience for everyone in attendance, and I encourage everyone to apply for Congress in January, and the First Year Integration Conference in February (if you’re a first year). Look out for some blog posts about those in the coming months at www.uwengconferences.ca. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to stop by the Orifice during my office hours, or send me an email at vpcomm.b@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca. Cheers!
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