National Engineering Month: An Introduction to Recognizing the Discipline
March is National Engineering Month in Canada with events and initiatives happening all over the country for children and young Canadians to learn about exciting careers in engineering. Interested in hosting an event? Read on for ideas to recognize National Engineering Month.
From road systems to software applications, industrial machinery to biomedical devices, we have engineers to thank for the everyday (and not so everyday) products, machines, systems and tools that make modern life possible. National Engineering Month gives those interested in the discipline — whether they’re educators or students, job seekers looking for work or employers looking to hire — a chance to network and learn more about the field.
In this blog, we’ll introduce you to the discipline and career prospects, plus we’ll highlight the different ways you can take part in National Engineering Month in Canada.
What is Engineering?
The term “engineer” is actually quite far-reaching. Essentially, an engineer is someone who uses math and science to solve problems and design systems. In practice, that means an engineer is responsible for just about every system or machine you can imagine.
When new discoveries are made, technologies developed or problems encountered, it is engineers who figure out how to make use of these new opportunities. For example, when a new vaccine is developed for use in developing countries, it is most likely a biomedical engineer who figures out the type of device needed to actually administer the vaccine, a mechanical engineer who designs the containment and transportation facilities and/or processes, a civil engineer might help determine the best route to get the vaccines from point A to point B as well as what facilities will be needed onsite for medical staff and patients, and possibly an overall project engineer bringing the whole thing together. The engineer’s objective is to make things happen in the simplest way possible, with the least number of steps and moving parts, to ensure successful outcomes. Although their goal is to achieve simplicity, making that happen is often quite complex.
Engineering in Canada
Engineers Canada is an organization focused on regulating, supporting and growing engineering across the country. They are responsible for accrediting university and college engineering programs, cultivating and enabling positive relationships between the different regulatory bodies, providing tools to assess qualifications, advocating on behalf of members of the engineering community, working towards diversity and inclusivity within the industry and much more.
With diverse cities and communities across the country, a wealth of natural resources, a growing economy and a host of other variables, there are countless opportunities for professionals in a number of engineering fields to grow their careers in Canada.
What Are the Most In Demand Engineering Jobs?
According to Canadian Business, the following 3 engineering fields ranked within the top 25 jobs in Canada overall in 2018:
- Software engineering
- Aerospace engineering
- Specialized engineering such as agricultural, naval, textile and biomedical.
In terms of engineering in general, New Engineer has identified the 8 top engineering fields for 2020 as:
- Data science and machine learning
- Automation and robotics, especially for tasks beyond the menial and repetitive
- Petroleum engineering
- Civil engineering including specialties such as transportation, roadwork, infrastructure and more
- Electrical engineering including power, electronics and more
- Alternative energy
- Mining engineering including the designing of mine types, extraction processes, transportation and more
- Project engineering which encompasses overseeing technical projects.
With so many branches of engineering within the industry and technological advancements happening at a faster pace than ever, it’s no surprise that engineering is one of the top industries overall to get into. In terms of the best field to focus on as an individual, that will ultimately depend on your areas of interest as well as the industries in the area where you want to work. For example, aerospace engineering may be one of the top fields country-wide, but unless there are career opportunities around where you live, you may need to look into relocating to participate in the field or choosing another area of focus. Roevin can help you find engineering jobs in your region. Find engineering jobs here.
What is National Engineering Month?
Hosted by regional engineering regulatory bodies and championed by Engineers Canada, National Engineering Month is about celebrating and recognizing the field but is primarily aimed at spreading information to students and young Canadians about the type of engineering careers available, the benefits of joining the industry and how to get started on working towards a career in engineering.
Although Engineers Canada helps facilitate events and spread the word, it is ultimately up to local organizations to do the organizing and hosting, which means how the month is observed will vary from region to region.
National Engineering Month Events
A whole host of events are being held across the country to mark National Engineering Month. These include contests such as this Engineering for the Bees challenge, APEGA’s Science Olympics, bridge building events and more. Events and challenges are aimed at a number of different engineering fields, but most are centered around some form of problem solving, as this is where the best engineers truly shine.
Many of the events are aimed at students in elementary and secondary grades, but there are plenty at the college and university levels as well. There are also plenty of events hosted by businesses, local governments and other organizations. To find events in your area, do a quick internet search or check events by province with Engineers Canada.
How Can You Recognize National Engineering Month?
Whether you are an employer, job seeker, student, educational institution, professor or teacher, there are different ways you can get in on the action and make the most of the month.
Employers
If you are looking for great engineers to join your team, consider hosting an event or challenge of your own. If you’re a small company, consider hosting the event in partnership with other companies in your industry or partnering with a local university program or other organization.
Events could include anything from hosting a workshop or a guest speaker to designing a challenge around the particular area of engineering you’re looking for. Consider a challenge around solving a mechanical engineering problem, designing a solution for traffic congestion at a local intersection, or creating a new feature or improvement on a popular app for software engineers. The result for you will be a host of fresh ideas and likely several potential candidates to join your team whom you will already have seen in action.
Job seekers
If you don’t currently have an engineering degree, it’s not a simple move to get into the industry. You would certainly have to consider going back to school if it’s something you’re seriously considering. This is a great month to check out the different universities in your area and see how their engineering programs stand up.
If you do have a degree and are looking for your first job or want change jobs, consider some of the top engineering specialties and do a job search of openings around where you live (or areas to which you’d consider relocating). Taking an advanced course or workshop is a great way to enhance your skills, build your network and take advantage of any job placement services that are available as well. During the month, check out the events on offer from local universities and dive in!
Students
Check out all the events happening in your area — either hosted by your school or another organization — and participate! Even if the events or challenges on offer aren’t in the field you’re interested in, it’s a great opportunity to see engineering in action and get your hands dirty. You may discover a new passion and you will definitely learn something new.
If nothing is being hosted in your area, take the lead! Speak to your teachers, professors or school administration about organizing something for students. It can be a good learning opportunity and a great addition to your CV or university applications.
Educational institutions
National Engineering Month is a great opportunity to get your students fired up or to recruit new students to your institution. It can also be great publicity for your school if you can arrange media coverage.
The type of event or challenge you host will of course depend on the grade level of your students, but whatever the grade or age, aim to keep your event fun and relevant. Events around the environment and climate change are great to get passionate students involved. Software engineering challenges can be especially fun if your students have learned coding. Any kind of building or design challenge can be ideal for cultivating teamwork and teaching students about collaboration. Pairing up older students with younger ones (or current students with prospective students) can be a great way of developing school spirit, higher student engagement, stronger cooperation among students and attract top students to your institution. Get creative!
Professors or teachers
Even if your institution is not taking part in the month, you can still hop on the bandwagon by organizing an event for your students. For younger students, educate them about the different types of engineering fields and what it takes to get into engineering, then present them with fun challenges to solve through engineering principles.
One of the drawbacks to engineering being such a diverse industry is that many people aren’t aware of just how many career opportunities can be opened up with an engineering degree. As an educator, you are in a unique position to truly embrace the spirit of National Engineering Month and teach your students about the industry.
From the toaster on your kitchen counter to the GPS that guides your way around traffic, engineering is everywhere. Getting people aware of the full contribution of engineers is what National Engineer Month is all about. So, seize the opportunity! You just might discover — or enable the discovery of — the next big innovation.
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