Travel and Conferences 2010-11

The bridging the Gap conference is an annual gathering where student, academics, development workers, and members of the public come together to discuss and share ideas on Canada’s role in development. The theme of this years conference was building opportunity and catalyzing change.

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers’ Annual Conference is the premier industry-wide conference and exposition in North America. The event includes a student design competition, papers tracks, innumerable technical presentations and unmatched networking opportunities.

The purpose of our project was to use synthetic biology to create a bacteriophage capable of degrading Staphylococcus Aureus biofilms. This was part of the iGEM competition, an annual synthetic biology competition hosted by MIT.

The Western Engineering Student Societies’ Team (WESST) is the organization overseeing the western region of CFES. WESST Retreat encompasses both the AGM and Olympics. The next executive are elected & motions are passed at the AGM, which decided the direction the organization will take over the next year. The Olympics are a chance for each school to bring a sort of competition or activity for the schools to participate in, giving a chance for friendly competition and social time.

This conference serves as a professional development and networking event. The main part of the conference consists of both business and technical development sessions, including Environmental Engineering, Management, and the Resource Sector. As APEGBC’s primary annual engineering and geoscience event, this conference will give students an opportunity to listen to several keynote speakers, as well as promote the new Engineering Student Center at the social events and trade exhibition. This year, the conference was held in Whistler, BC on Oct. 21-23, and leading professionals from all over BC were present, giving students a great opportunity to network and expand their knowledge of the industry.

The National Conference on Women in Engineering focuses on the progressive involvement of women in the field of engineering. Keynote speakers and breakout session leaders bring years of experience and insightful knowledge to the conference. In 2003 the conference was declared a national event; being the only such meeting in Canada. At the 2009 Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) Congress, the conference was adopted as annual CFES event. EUS is affiliated with the CFES, therefore the participation of our students in an organization that receives funding from UBC EUS’s membership (therefore our student fees) is crucial, in order maximize the return on the services they have to offer to us.

CFES Fall Meeting’s main purpose is for officers to organize the contents of CFES Congress, which is held annually during the first week of January. Additionally, officers present their progress on their respective projects like CEC, charity, and NCWIE, and continue to discuss up and coming issues affecting Canadian engineering students.

The 2011 Western Engineering Competition hosted 250 engineering students from Western Canada in 6 different competitions designed to challenge innovative skills, creative thinking, and teamwork. UBC was represented by 37 students throughout these 6 competitions.

The Alumni Dinner is the primary forum through which the Geological Engineering students have contact with alumni of the program. The evening provides time for mingling and reminiscing as well as for both students and industry to present some of their work to the group.