October 10, 2013
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The impact that engineers have on society is absolutely enormous. As a speaker pointed out at tonight’s event, engineers have designed, built, or else technically (and sometimes non-technically) influenced just about everything we see, and even that which we don’t see---below us, far above us, and in the air. In North America though, and in Ontario in particular, the engineer is not as well known for having a political influence. Rather, lawyers, economists, business-folk, and many others are elected to...

September 24, 2013
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Each ESSCO Executive member takes on a conference as their own each year. What this entails is liaising with and supporting the host school as they plan the event, and organizing conference content. President’s Meeting (PM) was my “baby”, and it was quite an amazing experience. First and foremost, I should make it clear that President’s Meeting ran smoothly and efficiently from a logistical standpoint (thanks Laurentian EngSoc), and a lot of content was a success (a huge shout out to...

August 17, 2013
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On August 14th, 2013, the ESSCO Exec met with Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) for discussions on the Student Membership Program, Engineering and Public Policy, and Government Liaison. After speaking with representatives from PEO, OCEPP and Brown & Cohen, we brought back the following that we found relevant for you. 1) PEO runs an information delivery system called the Student Membership Program (SMP). It is a service for the benefit of students that keeps engineering undergraduates informed about the next steps toward...

May 28, 2013
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After another successful conference the year is coming to a close as the current excecutive's terms wrap up. This past weekend the University of Waterloo hosted 70 delegates from across Ontario for the ESSCO Annual General Meeting. Some of the sessions that were run were an introduction to the ESSCO council for new VP externals, Faculty relations, and how expand your personal network. This was a very exciting conference as we had to elect our new executive for the upcoming year,...

April 14, 2013
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Take a look at this years Rube Goldberg machine that features nine schools from all across Ontario coming together to build a provincial wide rube goldberg machine with the last step lighting up the CN Tower purple! ...

February 24, 2013
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February is almost over and that means it’s time to start ramping up for National Engineering Month! NEM is a month long celebration of engineering with events happening across Canada to promote awareness of the engineering profession. Each year ESSCO puts together a large event linking the schools across Ontario in a display of engineering creativity and unity. This year the Rube Goldberg is back and better than ever! Ten schools across Ontario are currently working to build portions of a...

January 11, 2013
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From January 2-8 2013, the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students held their annual Congress in Kitchener and ESSCO was represented through my attendance. During this conference I took the opportunity to communicate with Ontario member schools as well as key members in the Engineering Profession. At this conference I made key contacts, which will allow me to discuss Ontario students opinions on things such as the role Engineers Canada plays in student development as well as the new accreditation process. I...

November 27, 2012
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On Friday November 3rd, myself and some of the other ESSCO exec had the opportunity to attend Question Period at Parliament and then have lunch in the Parliamentary dining room. Present at that lunch was Kim Allen, the CEO of Engineers Canada and over lunch we had a conversation about a few topics including the new outcomes based accreditation and the role Engineers Canada plays within the Engineering community. As many know, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board is changing the accreditation...

November 10, 2012
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On November 2nd seventy-two engineering students from across Ontario descended on Ottawa for the Professional Engineers Ontario Student Conference hosted by the University of Ottawa. On the Friday of the conference the ESSCO executives, PEO-SC organizing Committee, Mauricio Curbelo and Jeannette Chau from PEO, and Howard Brown from Brown and Cohen Communications and Public Affairs Inc. attended question period at the House of Commons. After question period the team met with Kim Allen the CEO of Engineers Canada for lunch. The...

October 15, 2012
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On September 15th the ESSCO student representatives met with the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) Advisory Board Executive members including Chair Kevin Shipley, Treasure Stephanie Shaw, Secretary Dan Roth and the Board Appointees. The role of the board is to oversee the regulations of the OEC, approve and suggest specific competitions, and ensure the level of quality displayed at the event stays in high standing. The conference opened with the only bid for the 2014 Ontario Engineering Competition from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)....

October 4, 2012
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November 2-4 2012, University of Ottawa Goal of the Conference  The Professional Engineers of Ontario Student Conference (PEOSC) is one of the largest student-run conferences in Ontario. The goal of this conference is to educate students on what lies beyond graduation. Every year it is planned and executed through the hard work of dedicated student volunteers. Industry partnership is vital to the success of the conference. Our Theme - Bridging The Gap: From Theory to Practice Like any major project, the education of the next generation of engineers requires the input and...

September 23, 2012
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Last weekend over 50 executives from Engineering Societies all over Ontario gathered to learn from each other and share best practices. Great discussions were had on the topics of corporate sponsorship, succession planning, unique services, and social media. From this conference it was also determined that a committee be formed to look at the high school math and science curriculum and how it affects the transition into engineering. Anyone interested in being a part of that initiative can look at...

September 18, 2012
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On September 16, 2012, ESSCO members voted to further research student opinion on the high school-to-University transition with regards to math and science curriculum. The research, and follow-up documentation, falls under an ESSCO initiative called the Lobbying Issues and Action Committee (LIAC) under the direction of ESSCO President, Michael Seliske. I, Mike Kovacs, have been asked to chair the committee. The issue that initiated this LIAC research topic is student concern regarding coursework in their first year of an Engineering program. Much of the content...

September 13, 2012
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ESSCO is currently looking for individuals for the role of Event Director for both National Engineering Month and Wonderland Math and Physics Day. These are two of the larger outreach services ESSCO facilitates as we are committed to promoting Engineering as a profession, especially to highschool and elementary school students. An ESSCO directorship is an excellent opportunity to develop your skills in project management as you will be maintaining a budget, facilitating volunteer recruitment, and conducting large scale event planning....

September 10, 2012
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  This August the new ESSCO executive met with the PEO manager of Student and Government Liaison Programs Jeannette Chau, P.Eng, PEO SMP Coordinator Mauricio Curbelo, PEO Chief Administration Officer Scott Clark, and the PEO Government Relations Consultant Howard Brown at the Toronto PEO office. We discussed the upcoming year and the relationship between ESSCO and the PEO. Some topics that came up were school participation in regional chapter meetings, the student membership program restructuring, and the Government Liaison Program. The...