A few words from the Dean
As the 2014/15 academic year begins, we are pleased to welcome new students to the Faculty of Engineering. I am sure that each new student is looking forward to the combination of hard work and fun that goes with studying engineering – certainly I remember the hard work part, as well as some of the fun! Youth today clearly see the value of an engineering education; with the competition to enter engineering programs continuously increasing all our engineering programs will be filled to capacity if not a bit beyond capacity.
The students coming into our engineering programs are top-notch and this bodes well for the future of our profession. Consider that the for the 2013/14 academic year the average entering grade of all incoming first-year Engineering students who applied directly from secondary school was more than 91% and I anticipate a higher average this year! Some of the items in this What’s News will attest to the calibre of our students. At the same time, we have faced many difficult decisions as many academically qualified students that would surely develop into excellent engineers cannot be accepted. All of us in the Faculty empathize with these students that we cannot accommodate and likewise, we understand what the loss of these students may mean to our profession and society; after all, one of the students not accepted could have the potential to be your future outstanding employee!
Balancing the demand from students to study engineering with the demand for engineers is the biggest challenge currently facing the Faculty. In response this year we have increased the intake to the civil engineering program by 16% and aim to increase our intake capacity further in the upcoming years. However, to increase enrolment while concurrently maintaining appropriate support of students can only be achieved with appropriate resources. I invite you to support the Faculty of Engineering in meeting the challenge of giving more Manitobans the opportunity to study engineering at home at the University of Manitoba. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your support for this endeavour or other ways you can contribute to enhancing engineering education and research at the University of Manitoba.