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Outreach
Building Future Leaders
By Dani Couture
Engineers have a distinct and important role in society. Fulfilling this role requires more than technical expertise—it takes sound leadership skills.
Through the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow program, the Faculty is educating young engineers to seek out leadership roles in their professional careers and to make significant contributions at a local, national and international scale. The program intends to equip students, so that they can become successful industry leaders and outstanding citizens.
The Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow initiative began in the summer of 2002 to enhance the experience of undergraduate students who were conducting summer research projects in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. Since then, the program has expanded to other Engineering departments and involves hundreds of students.
Through participation in the program, Annie Simpson, the Leadership Development Coordinator for the Faculty, hopes that students gain a greater awareness of team skills, group dynamics, self-awareness and how to effectively and respectfully work with others. “It’s the human side of engineering. These are the skills, in combination with a great technical education, that will make U of T Engineering students stand out.”
Many engineers work in interdisciplinary teams and it’s important for them to communicate effectively with individuals who think differently and hold different values. Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow offers students opportunities to develop themselves as full people—to compliment their technical expertise with greater self-understanding and the ability to lead and inspire others toward positive change.
Maximizing Every Opportunity
Professor Emma Master, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, has been involved with the Chemical Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow program since 2006. Her main role is to facilitate program events with the assistance of the students who are part of their Leaders of Tomorrow working group. Professor Master hopes that students learn “…the enormous value of being intentional about how one conducts oneself, to maximize every learning opportunity and potential to make a beneficial contribution.”
The Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry aims to provide students with two Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow events per month during the academic year and one event every Friday afternoon during the summer. With activities ranging from networking and dining etiquette tutorials to conflict resolution and group facilitation on the calendar, these sessions are bound to make a lasting impression on the undergraduate students in attendance.
Habitat for Humanity
A part of the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow vision is to develop an “engineering education that is an exceptional foundation for transformational leaders and outstanding citizens.” This year, 60 Chemical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering students will participate in a unique Leaders of Tomorrow event.
Neha Tummala, a student in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has been an active participant and organizer in the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow program for the past year. This year, she suggested that students participate in a Habitat for Humanity workday.
Professor Markus Bussmann, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, will organize the event. Split equally over two days in August, 60 students will volunteer their time for an important cause. “For some students, it’ll be their first volunteer experience, and we think it’s important to expose students to that,” remarks Professor Bussmann. “We think this is a great chance to have students work together on a project of real value to the community.”