Canadian Federation of Engineering Students

The Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) is a student-run, bilingual, national engineering organization which works to represent engineering students, facilitate sharing amongst schools across Canada and provide schools with the opportunity to learn about the diversity we have in our vast nation.  The CFES encompasses approximately 65,000 engineering students who attend one of the 47 member schools in one of four regions of Canada.  Unlike the Engineering Student Societies’ Council of Ontario (ESSCO), which is our regional organization (and typically has a more focused opinion), the CFES strives to represent all of the diverse viewpoints shared amongst students across Canada to the various national engineering organizations.  The CFES is a member of the Canadian Engineering Leadership Forum (CELF) which is a collaborative effort between the six major engineering organizations in Canada; the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES), Engineers Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineers (CAE), the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) and the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NCDEAS). The Forum is meant to be an information-sharing initiative, with the goal of developing a vision of the profession for the next 30 years, to help enhance engineering and ensure we are responding to the needs of Canada as a whole.

Beyond this representation, the CFES has a few opportunities which closely affect YOU including the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC), the National Conference for Women in Engineering and Congress which is the annual general meeting of the Federation.  The Canadian Engineering Competition is a national-level engineering competition which is the final step in a series of competitions starting with the Waterloo Competition (WEC) and continuing through the Ontario Engineering Competition, with qualifiers competing in CEC each March.  Keep an eye out for WEC announcements throughout the term.  The National Conference for Women in Engineering (NCWIE) is a national conference for members from engineering schools across the country to come together and share ideas and issues which are associated with Women in Engineering.  This year, NCWIE is being held at McMaster University in November, so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested in these types of issues.  One of the larger events which is run by the Federation is Congress, a week-long conference in January where schools come together to share ideas with other schools as well as discuss issues facing engineering students in Canada.  This is also where partcipants determine the goals the Federation will have for the year and what types of things might be accomplished.  This year the WESST region is collectively hosting Congress in Whitehorse, Yukon with the 2013 edition being held right here in Waterloo.  They release a magazine four times a year called “Project Magazine” and can be contributed to by any engineering student in the country, so check the newsstand beside the Orifice for the latest edition.

This was a lot of information and a lot of acronyms, but be aware that there are gears turning outside of Waterloo’s walls that are trying to make your Canadian Engineering Education the best as it can be.