The start of February has been a busy time in the world of the VP-External. Two major events have happened: the First-Year Integration Conference and the Ontario Engineering Competition. The two events are significantly different from each other, however both help develop leadership qualities, teamwork qualities and ingenuity in Waterloo’s Engineering students.
The First-Year Integration conference happened from January 30 to February 1, and was hosted by Laurentian University in Sudbury. The Engineering Society “A” VP-External, Heather Smith, and myself drove nine delegates during the five hour ride to Sudbury. Despite lengthy travels, the First-Year students arrived excited and ready to take away new leadership skills from the conference. Several development sessions took place, including how to tackle interviews, how to manage extracurriculars with school, and how to create a great LinkedIn Profile. The first-year delegates also had the opportunity to network with students from across Ontario, an experience that was beneficial to them. The mini-tool also made an appearance at the conference, being worn by two first-year delegates. I would like to add that during my term as VP-External I have brought the mini-tool to two conferences and have not lost it. All-in-all, upon returning to Waterloo I feel we have nine first-year students who have acquired new skills they can contribute to the Engineering Society.
The Ontario Engineering Competition took place from February 6 to 8, and was hosted by Ryerson University in Toronto. In total,Waterloo Engineering Society “A” and “B” combined sent forty-five competitors to seven different competitions. The competition categories were: Junior Design, Senior Design, Innovative Design, Consulting, Technical Speaking, Debate, and Programming. Having competed at the Ontario Engineering Competition before I can personally say that it is an amazing experience. Every competition offers something challenging that truly tests and engineer’s skill set. It, like the First-Year Integration Conference, is also a fantastic opportunity to meet students from other Engineering Schools in Ontario. Waterloo sent several professors as judges for the competition. On another note, Waterloo will be hosting the Ontario Engineering Competition next year, in 2016.
All-in-all, February has been a fantastic month for conferences and competitions where Waterloo can showcase its talent provincially. If you are interested in learning more about the First-Year Integration Conference or the Ontario Engineering Competition, please email me at vpexternal.b@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca
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