Canadian Federation of Engineering Students

The Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) (Fédération canadienne étudiante de génie in French) is the national association of undergraduate engineering student societies in Canada and exists to organize activities, provide services and interact with professional and other bodies at the national and international level for the benefit of Canadian engineering students. The organization is a bilingual non-profit corporation based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, managed by a volunteer team of engineering students and recent graduates from across Canada.

Canadian Federation of Engineering Students
Fédération canadienne des étudiants en génie
AbbreviationCFES
Founded1967
TypeOrganizations based in Canada
Location
Membership
75,000 (est.) students in 51 engineering societies
Official language
English, French
Websitewww.cfes.ca
Current National Executive
PresidentWendy Vasquez
VP AcademicSierra Sparks
VP Finance and AdministrationIan Currie
VP ServicesVenedict Tamondong
VP InternationalEmily Secnik

Activities

CFES Canadian Engineering Leadership Conference

The flagship event of the CFES, the Canadian Engineering Leadership Conference (CELC), formerly known as Congress, serves as both the Annual General Meeting of the Federation, as well as a leadership development forum for engineering students from across Canada. Congress is typically held in the first week or January, spanning a full week of leadership development sessions, informational presentations, guest speakers from industry, a career fair and culminating in plenary, the decision making body of the CFES. At congress, the CFES National Executive and other officer positions are elected, and bids are made to host other CFES activities.

Host schools

Publications

The CFES Project Magazine, also known as ProMag, is a magazine published by the CFES and distributed to member schools. In 2012, ProMag was discontinued due to a shifted interest in providing an online journal that is more easily accessible. Additionally, the content of ProMag did not any longer satisfy the desires of CFES members.

Subsequently, Promag was replaced by the CFES Publication (also called the Pub), which is an online publication that is focused on promoting the research and super-curricular activities of Canadian undergraduate engineering students. The Pub is a service provided by the Federation, and is no longer up for bid at Congress. The Pub has since become defunct.

In the 2019-2020 Operating Year, the CFES decided to revive Project Magazine as an in-house online journal, celebrating the different regions of the federation through articles and stories submitted to a Task Force. It exists as a virtual publication.

Project Magazine host schools

[1]

Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC)

The Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) (Compétition canadienne d'ingénierie in French) is an annual competition involving more than 150 of the best and brightest engineering students from across Canada.

All competitors at the CEC qualify for the competition through one of four regional competitions:

  • Western Engineering Competition (WEC)
  • Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC)
  • Quebec Engineering Competition (QEC)
  • Atlantic Engineering Competition (AEC)

Competition categories

The CEC includes competitions in a variety of topics. Individual competitors can be entered in any one of the following competition categories:

  • Extemporaneous Debate
  • Senior Team Design
  • Junior Team Design
  • Consulting Engineering
  • Innovative Design
  • Engineering Communication
  • Re-Engineering
  • Programming

Host schools

As the CEC has a national scope, engineering schools wishing to host the competition must win a competitive bid process through the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students. Schools that have hosted the competition since its inception in 1985 include:

Programs

Complementary Education Courses (CE Courses)

Complementary Education, or CE Courses, provide an opportunity for engineering students to extend their education beyond the basic engineering curriculum. CE Courses focus on a specific academic or development topic, such as Biomaterials, Nanotechnology and Professional Development. In addition to the academic component, CE Courses offer a number of social activities, and are a great way to explore a new city.

At the moment, the CFES does not host its own Complementary Education courses. The Board of European Students of Technology open their CE courses to students of CFES member schools, allowing them to apply as a registrant of the course or as an organizer.

Services

CFES Lean Six Sigma

The CFES offers a certification course in Lean Six Sigma. Formerly available through a partnership with Canada Post, the service could only be offered in one of Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, or Montreal- one of Canada Post's major hubs. In 2019, the CFES obtained a partnership agreement with Abacus[2] which re-instated a more nationally available event for members to participate in. Typically, it occurs over the course of two weekends- one in English, and one in French, respectively.

Host schools

CFES Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE)

The CFES is offers the Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE) to its members.[3]

NCWIE began in 1990 as a local conference at Queen's University and in 2003 it became a national event. Other Canadian universities were invited to host it after the 2007 conference. The University of Western Ontario was the first school after Queen's University to host the event in 2008.[4] Shortly thereafter, NCWIE was made a service of the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students.

The first year that the CFES Conference on Diversity in Engineering is offered is 2015, denoting the end of the National Conference on Women in Engineering.

Host schools

CFES Conference on Sustainability in Engineering (CSE)

The CFES is offers the Conference on Sustainability in Engineering (CSE) to its members.[5] CSE began as a new conference intended to address the need for a national discussion on sustainability in the Engineering field, as a part of the sustainability working group's work, and in address to the CFES Stance on Sustainability.

The first year that the CFES Conference on Sustainability in Engineering was offered is 2019, at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, BC.

Host schools

Structure

Members

The membership of the organization consists of engineering student societies, rather than individual engineering students. Eligibility for membership is limited to those societies located at a Canadian university that has at least one engineering program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board and represents engineering student concerns to the school's administration and engineering faculty.

The member societies are divided into four geographic regions for the purposes of representation on the Federation's board of directors:

  • Atlantic (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island)
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • West (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Canadian territories)

Board of Directors

As a non-profit organization, the Federation has a board of directors that is responsible for managing the business and property of the organization. Aside from the Chair, the board consists of 3 individuals elected at the annual meeting (the President, and the two National Councillors) and four regional ambassadors, selected using regionally-determined methods:

  • The Chair
  • The President
  • Four (4) Regional Ambassadors
  • Two (2) National Councillors of the Federation

Officer Team

National Executive

The CFES' operations are split by the National Executive, each operating in a different component. The National Executive will coordinate as one unit and ensure the smooth operations of the federation.

  • President
  • Vice President Academic
  • Vice President Finance and Administration
  • Vice President Services
  • Vice President International

Commissioners

The CFES further operates with Commissioners conducting the tasks in a specific portfolio. These commissioners are:

  • Corporate Relations Commissioner
  • Bilingualism Commissioner
  • Engineering Change Lab Commissioner
  • IT Commissioner
  • Social Issues Commissioner
  • Communications Commissioner

Activity Managers

The chairs of each of the activities and services offered by the CFES are also considered full officers of the CFES. These include:

  • Lean Six Sigma Activity Manager (L6S)
  • Presidents' Meeting Activity Manager (PM)
  • Conference on Diversity in Engineering Activity Manager (CDE)
  • Canadian Engineering Leadership Conference Activity Manager (CELC)
  • Conference on Sustainability in Engineering Activity Manager (CSE)
  • Canadian Engineering Competition Activity Manager (CEC)

Corporate Partners

Student Partners
  • Board of European Students of Technology
  • bonding-studenteninitiative e.V. (German student organization for students of engineering and natural sciences)
  • National Association of Engineering Student Councils (American student organization for students of engineering and technology)
  • EngiQueers Canada (National diversity and inclusion engineering student organization)

Regional Associations
  • Western Engineering Student Societies' Team (WESST)
  • Engineering Student Societies' Council of Ontario (ESSCO)
  • Quebec Confederation for Engineering Student Outreach (QCESO (more recognized by its French acronym, CREIQ))
  • Atlantic Council of Engineering Students (ACES)

See also
  • List of engineering societies in Canada

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Partnership with CFES". abacusteam.ca. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. "Conference on Diversity in Engineering – CFES". Cfes.ca. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  4. "Engineering Now - Faculty of Engineering, University of Western Ontario". Eng.uwo.ca. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  5. "Conference on Sustainability in Engineering – CFES". Cfes.ca. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
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