In
this edition of Between Us, find out about:
Ø
International Institution
Degree Database (IIDD) project
Ø
Constituent Members Approve 2006
– 2008 Strategic Plan
Ø
NRCan Conference – Adapting to Climate Change in
Canada 2005:
Understanding Risks and Building Capacity
Ø
Call
For Photos – 2006 Commemorative Calendar
Celebrating Engineering that Transforms Canada: past, present and future
The FC2I Phase II report called for the development of a database of
international engineering degrees that could be used consistently across
Canada. Following this recommendation,
Engineers Canada received funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(HRSDC) for the first phase of the International Institution Degree Database
(IIDD) project.
The Steering Committee for this project comprises
the CEQB Foreign Engineering Qualifications Committee with support from KTA consultants
and Engineers Canada staff. The Steering Committee
held the first of three two-day meetings to establish criteria for categorizing
international degrees and for determining the protocols for the use of the
categories.
Consultation
with the constituent members will be ongoing throughout the project, which is
expected to be completed by the end of October. The second phase of the project will be to develop the program
for the database and to begin populating it with pre-existing information
available from the constituent members and Engineers Canada.
On May 13, 2005, the annual meeting of the Engineers Canada board of directors was
held in Regina, Saskatchewan, followed by the Annual Meeting of Members held
May 14, 2005.
One highlight of the meetings was the approval, by the board and the
members, of the 2006 – 2008 Strategic Plan. The plan was developed through consultation with Engineers Canada directors,
the chairs of the Engineers Canada standing committees, representatives of the constituent
members and the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students, as well as other
stakeholders. The development of the
renewed strategic plan began in June 2004 with a workshop for the board of
directors, during which broad strategic directions were established. A survey was developed, to gather
stakeholders' input on the issues that the plan should address, and the survey
results were reviewed and discussed during a special workshop held during the
October board meeting. The 2006–2008
Strategic Plan was developed from the input of the workshop, and was sent
to the constituent members for their final review prior to the May
meeting.
We would like to thank all those who contributed their ideas and
comments to the development of this plan, which will guide Engineers Canada's operations
over the next three years.
In early June, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) held
its 120th meeting.
The most recent meeting of the CEAB focused on a number of key items
including updates regarding new engineering programs across the country,
accreditation visits and decisions, a review of the CEAB workplan, and an
update of CEAB's international activities.
To mark CEAB's 40th anniversary, the September 2005 meeting
will feature a special workshop, which will focus on the “inclusion of outcomes
assessment elements” in CEAB's evaluation criteria.
CEAB is responsible for many activities including
accrediting undergraduate engineering programs in Canada, its primary mandate,
as well as assessing the equivalency of the accreditation systems used in other
nations relative to the Canadian system.
In
early May Engineers Canada past-president Darrel Danyluk, P.Eng. and three members of the
CEQB Environment and Sustainability Committee attended this three day
conference in Montréal. Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) Climate Change
Impacts and Adaptation Program (CCIAP) and the Canadian Climate Impacts and
Adaptation Research Network (C-CIARN) organized the conference. Over 325 people
attended, including representatives from the federal and provincial
governments, researchers, policymakers, municipal officials, non-governmental
organizations and international climate change stakeholders.
For its part, Engineers Canada organized and chaired a special
session on engineering issues. Four presentations, including one from
past-president Danyluk, covered a range of topics, including engineers and
their role in climate change adaptation. One of the highlights of the event
featured the executive director for the NRCan CCIAP praising the efforts of
Engineers Canada through its actions on the Climate Change Action Plan and its stewardship
of the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC).
Further information on the conference is available from Engineers Canada at david.lapp@engineerscanada.ca and the website www.adaptation2005.ca
Engineers Canada
is inviting engineers, as well as amateur and professional photographers to
submit photos of great, Canadian engineering achievements, past, present and
future for a 2006 calendar!
Help
us highlight Canada's engineering achievements by sending us your photos of
modern day or historic landmarks such as buildings, bridges, highways or
canals; biomedical and telecommunications advancements that impact on our
collective well-being; innovations or inventions in transportation that help
propel Canada into the future; improvements in mechanization and production
found in factories or efficient energy resources such as our power plants,
dams, wind farms and oil refineries, recognized around the world.
Deadline
Photo(s)
must be submitted to the appropriate provincial/territorial licensing body
before September 1, 2005, with the completed release forms.
See http://www.engineerscanada.ca/e/pub_events.cfm
for more information.