Dr. Jonathan Verrett

The 2018 Canadian Engineering Education Association Annual Conference was held at the University of British Columbia, June 3rd – 6th, 2018, with the theme of “Building a Foundation for Student Success”.

The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a non-profit multidisciplinary organization that promotes excellence in instruction, research, public service, and practice to further engineering and technology education. Zone IV, the largest of ASEE’s regional groups, includes three sections: Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and, in Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan), Pacific Southwest (Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada), and Rocky Mountain (Colorado, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming). This year’s Zone IV conference will be hosted by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Theme: The theme of this year’s conference is Impact Through Equity. ASEE has declared 2021-2022 as the society’s Year of Impact on Racial Equity. Recent events have challenged engineers to reflect on the impact of their actions on society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching modes and equity have been and continue to be a concern. The conference program will focus on the theme of equity, though submissions on any topic relevant to engineering education will also be considered.

NICKEL VII will involve in-person workshops, classroom simulations, reflective activities, and great conversation! The conference theme this year is “Pulling Together” and is inspired by the BC Indigenization Guides for post-secondary institutions. The Guides’ Indigenization Project “can be described as an evolving story of how diverse people can journey forward in a canoe”, pulling together to learn and share (Foundations Guide). Through the conference, we hope to draw on the diversity in NICKEL and beyond in our own shared journey of engineering leadership.