June 2007 Issue

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industry calls for more phd students

BY KIRK THRUBIDE
Schulich School of Engineering

MEETING OF MINDS APEGGA President John McLeod, P.Eng., and Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, P.Eng., Schulich School of Engineering Dean, were among the leaders attending last month’s Schulich Engineering Education Summit. APEGGA helped sponsor the event.

Success in the engineering industry requires the integration of technical, relational and business skills, in addition to academic achievement. Industry requires these skills and more PhD graduates to sustain innovation in engineering.
That was the message sent during the industry keynote address at the Schulich School of Engineering’s Engineering Education Summit, May 16.

 “There is a tremendous demand for more post graduates who are highly skilled,” said Dr. Lorraine Whale, P.Eng., a Shell Canada research manager and the industry keynote speaker for the summit. “The new engineer is a designer who is creativity constrained by nature, by cost, by concerns for safety, environmental impact, ergonomics, reliability, manufacturability, maintainability — the whole list of ‘ilities’.”

While today’s undergraduate students are technically sound, greater development of other leadership skills is in critical need in industry. Areas such as communications, teamwork, valuing diversity, and emotional intelligence are no longer simply beneficial skills for engineers — they are essential ones. Graduates need a multi-faceted skill set for success in industry.
“There is a requirement for two kinds of engineers in industry today, both hands-on and science-based innovative engineers,” said Dr. Whale.

The Schulich School of Engineering currently has about 1,000 full-time graduate students. But in order to supply industry with the required leaders and innovators of a new generation of engineers, this number will have to grow. Based on the feedback from industry, faculty, and students, a formal strategic plan will be launched by the Schulich School of Engineering in the fall.

Said Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, P.Eng., Schulich School of Engineering Dean: “We are producing the next generation of engineers, not just for here in Calgary but across the country and globally.”
The summit brought together about 100 faculty members, industry and government leaders, and others. They discussed and work shopped the challenges facing engineers and what education can do to help.