Future engineers urged to give back to society

Max Harrold

 
 

His hands blackened with car grease, Dave Morgan, a graduate of the 2004 class of engineers, proudly pointed to the Mini Baja all-terrain vehicle he helped build.

“There’s what you learn in class,” he explained, “and then there’s what you do outside.”

The vehicle, part of a competition entered into by members of the Society of Automotive Engineers, was on display in the Hall Building this week during a three-day conference, Engineering: A Profession, A Passion! For Morgan, this scruffy-looking joy ride was the clearly the product of both.

Students were encouraged to fortify their future careers by networking among themselves, reaching out to professionals in the field and considering the broader implications of their work in society.

Robert A. Walsh, an engineer with 40 years of experience, is known for his pioneering work, helping solve crimes by matching empty shell cases to the firearms that discharged them.

He told students qualities like integrity, perseverance and humility would give them an edge in the market. “I always assume (engineers) are intelligent,” Walsh said, “or else you wouldn’t be here. But what makes me want to hire someone is if they have good inter-personal skills and if they are good team players.’

Themes of the conference included competence, responsibility, social commitment and ethical conduct. Besides Walsh, other principal speakers included Jacques Lyrette, VP, Technology Direction, and CEO of ADGA Group Consultants, Réjean M. Breton, president and CEO of Breton, Banville & Associates, Terence J. Kerwin, president of Galvacor, and Alain Saladzius, co-ordinating engineer for wastewater and drinking water infrastructures with Quebec’s Depart-ment of Municipal Affairs.

“It’s not just about hunting [an iron] ring for four years,” said Karim Ibrahim, Jr., an engineer with Bombardier Aeronautics and himself a Concordia graduate from 2001.

“Engineers never stop learning. They study their entire lives, and their decisions impact many people every day. But no stress,” he joked.

Ibrahim urged students to join groups like Engineers Without Borders and to consider altruism as an integral part of their mission as engineers.

Dominique Anglade is also an engineer and director of Government Relations and External Affairs with Nortel Networks.

She told the audience in Room H-110 that her Haitian parents had been reminders of how privileged Canadians are to enjoy a high degree of educational accessibility and political stability.

The conference coincided with the opening Sept. 20 of the new offices of the Ordre des ingÈnieurs du Québec in the Windsor Station Building.

Anglade and others urged students to join the OIQ as student members and foster professional relationships.

The conference, well attended, seemed to be influencing young engineers already.

Malika Daoud, of the OIQ, said, “In the past year students have been writing e-mails to speakers of last year’s conference. They have lots of ideas and many questions.”