March marks National Engineering Month, an annual campaign designed to celebrate the role engineers play in society, as well spark an interest in the next generation of engineers.
Presented by Engineers Canada and hosted by the provincial and territorial governing bodies, it revolves around the theme “There's a place for you in engineering” which aims to promote the field to today's youth.
The goals are to provide opportunities to learn about engineering, help kids understand the various things they can do as engineers, and teach them what it takes to become a professional.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the possibility of large in-person gatherings out of the window, and so the events of the past two years have been held exclusively online.
“Because of ongoing physical distancing measures, in-person events weren’t possible this year for National Engineering Month as they have been in past years. However, there are over 70 online events happening throughout March for a range of audiences, from kids through to engineering students and engineering professionals,” said Jeanette Southwood, vice-president of Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships with Engineers Canada.
“Engineers Canada, in collaboration with the provincial and territorial engineering regulators, has also created engineering activities for children and youth that can be done online, in class, or at home. These include a virtual engineering and geoscience scavenger hunt for children ages 5-13, engineering design challenges for children aged 11-13, and trivia and problem-based engineering quizzes for high school students.”
Throughout the month, thousands of parents, students, teachers, and aspiring engineers interact with professionals through virtual events and social media. For example on March 8, International Women's Day, a panel discussion on Women In Engineering was held.
“National Engineering Month is a chance, each year, for children and youth to explore the world of engineering. There is a lot of emphasis placed on STEM education, and the month is a chance to focus in on the ‘E’—engineering—in particular. It’s a chance for young Canadians to learn more about what engineers do, and how, with the numerous and varied engineering disciplines, there’s almost certainly one where their skills, interests, and passions can fit in. The month is also a chance to celebrate the important role that engineers play in society—they are professional problem-solvers, and they play a key role in their communities,” said Southwood.
Charlee Boulet is the Timmins Regional Chapter Chair of the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) and he confirmed that locally, they have no events planned for this month due to the pandemic, but have hosted events in past years
“Normally we do a few activities a year. Because we're such a small chapter, and small budget, we sometimes team up with the professional engineers and sometimes have an event in March. But last year, all events got cancelled because of the pandemic,” he said.
Boulet said the local chapter is very small, at 150 or so members, so the budget isn't there for events. He lamented that in the past, there was a lot more corporate support put forward which just isn't the case today.
“For example, there were grants up to $700 available to chapters like us in the past.”
To combat this, the chapter has held their last three events promoting engineering at Northern College.
“To hold an event with any kind of group, you need more dollars. So we partnered with Northern College and also with Ontario Power Generation,” said Boulet.
They held an event on March 14, affectionately known as “Pi Day” for its association with the mathematical constant.
“To do things on our own, we don't have enough money. That's why when Engineering Month occurs, we try to do things with other people.”
In terms of OACETT, the Timmins Region is a very large area, covering east to Ramore, all the way up to Hearst and Hornepayne, as well as the James Bay coast. Boulet said that is a challenge, as members are spread out everywhere, with only about 60 percent located in Timmins.
“As a rule, you don't get a lot of participation in events. Maybe, and it's like this across the province, in the neighbourhood of 10 to 20 percent. So that's why having an event just for members doesn't work. You need to have events to generate interest from kids and students, through Science Timmins, for example, you partner with other people and you do engineering things.”
Last fall, a film screening of “Dream Big,” an epic engineering documentary narrated by Oscar winning actor Jeff Bridges, was to take place at the Timmins Public Library, but had to be cancelled, which was an unfortunate setback.
“We had an event planned, it was sponsored by National Engineering Month, but it fell through because we couldn't access the library.”
Boulet said the overall purpose of National Engineering Month is to make it exciting, so chapter's executives don't want to do the same things every year. They meet three or four times annually to determine how to allocate funds. That includes an endowment bursary fund for students pursuing post-secondary engineering programs.
Boulet said the chapter is essentially in a holding pattern for now, as the vaccination process is slowly rolling out across the country. There is a hope for some engineering themed events later in the year, but he pointed to another big issue.
“This is all done by volunteers. So the other problem we have, is we're very short on volunteers, like pretty much every organization.”
At the national level, the month long celebration aims to maintain the country's strength in the field of engineering, but also make it more inclusive.
“We have not seen convincing evidence that would suggest that there’s a shortage of engineers in Canada. The engineering profession in Canada is 300,000 strong, and enrolment in post-secondary engineering programs is always growing,” said Southwood.
“However, we want to ensure a couple of things, that those engineering students, upon graduation, continue on to apply for and earn their engineering licence to join the profession. We also want to ensure that the profession reflects the demographics of the public that it serves, and that it is attracting and retaining women, Indigenous people, BIPOC, and others who are currently underrepresented in the profession.”
