OSPE - The Voice - June 2017 - 11

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Panelists discuss what engineering students need to succeed. Left to right: Sarah Doyle, Dr. Rafik Loutfy, Dr. Brenda McCabe, P.Eng.,
Dr. Tom Murad, P.Eng., and Michael Lavdas.

graduates succeed and, in so doing, support the province's
future growth and prosperity," Peter Marcucci, P.Eng., Chair
of OSPE's Research and Innovation (R&I) Task Force, told
attendees at the General Assembly.
The panel consisted of:
* Sarah Doyle, Director of Policy and Research at the Brookfield
Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E)
* Dr. Rafik Loutfy, Director and Innovator-in-Residence
at Ryerson's Centre for Engineering Innovation and
Entrepreneurship
* Dr. Brenda McCabe, P.Eng., Associate Professor of Civil
Engineering and Academic Director for the Engineering
Career Centre at the University of Toronto (UofT)
* Dr. Tom Murad, P.Eng., Head of Siemens Canada's
Engineering and Technology Academy (SCETA)
* Michael Lavdas, President of the Engineering Student
Societies' Council of Ontario (ESSCO) and mechatronic
systems engineering student at the University of Western
Ontario
R&I Task Force member Mukul Asthana, P.Eng. moderated
an informative, dynamic, and thought-provoking session that
touched on numerous key and intersecting issues.
Given BII+E's extensive research on Ontario's labour
market, Doyle set the stage by discussing how technology is not
a new issue when it comes altering the labour market, citing
the impact technology had on the agricultural sector in the
19th Century. "Today, low-skilled jobs will be most impacted
by automation," Doyle said. BII+E's "The Talented Mr. Robot"
report indicated that 42% of jobs are at-risk of being impacted
by automation, but less than 1% of jobs are fully automatable.
"We know that change is continuing because of technology
and there are some skills that can't be automated... there's
an increased demand for soft skills because technology can't
replicate soft and entrepreneurial skills, said Doyle.

As an experienced business professional, Loutfy also spoke
about the importance of entrepreneurial skills for engineering
students. "There are few universities that offer supports
for entrepreneurship, and Ryerson offers both formal and
informal training," Loufy explained. Ryerson's Master of
Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE),
which Loutfy founded, helps students build a company and,
as a result, their communication, business, leadership, and
teamwork skills, and allows them "to be more marketable [to
a prospective employer] or to start their own business." Loutfy
said the program is "not training students to manage wealth
like an MBA program, but to create new wealth and jobs for
themselves and others."
McCabe discussed UofT's Professional Experience Year
(PEY) - Canada's largest undergraduate paid internship
program. In 2015, 66% of UofT engineering undergraduates
completed a 12 to 16 month placement. When asked whether
work placements should be mandatory, McCabe noted that
a "one-size fits all approach may not be the best solution."
Furthermore, engineering students are taking the initiative
to develop their communication and teamwork skills by
participating in student clubs and design contests. She added
there is a need for industry support to develop more workintegrated learning opportunities for students.
As head of Siemens Canada's dual education program,
Murad is passionate about cultivating the next generation
of Ontario's engineers. "Engineering is the application of
science," Murad pointed out, highlighting the importance of
engineering students developing an understanding of how
the theory they learn in the classroom is applied in industry.
While many companies are unwilling to invest in training
students and new graduates, Murad noted Siemens Canada's
leadership in helping students get from engineering classroom
to career. Doyle added that "employers play a critical role in
skills development, and other employers need to develop
models like the Siemens Academy... The Siemens model
June 2017

The VOICe

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