As National Capital Liaison I recently had the chance to attend the 74th meeting of the Canadian Engineering Qualification Board (CEQB) in Ottawa. The role of the CEQB is to form nationwide guidelines on professional (as opposed to academic) engineering qualifications, ethics and conduct with the aim to streamline the various provincial and territorial practices. They are also responsible for assessing persons coming from a non-accredited Canadian program or recognized international equivalent.

Though I missed the first section of the meeting due to previous commitments, there has been much work done on international mobility. The agreement of mutual understand has been ratified between Engineers Canada and Engineers Ireland, adding it to the list of countries where you can easily take your degree and professional status. Engineers Canada has also been approached by their equivalent in Texas with the aim to develop a similar agreement, though the issue of signing with a single state making US relations more difficult was brought up. A workshop on ethics and character followed the regular meeting, with lots of discussion on academic integrity in university and the profession. From this interest was sparked from the CEQB about a possible collaboration with the CFES on studying certain items further.

The meeting was very successful and the CFES is quite pleased at the continuing inclusion of students in important professional events. If you have any questions on the CEQB meeting or similar topics, feel free to contact me at the e-mail provided.

Rob Stalker

rob.stalker@cfes.ca
National Capital Liaison
Canadian Federation of Engineering Students