As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape industries, Associate Professor of Engineering Peng Wu says World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development — which takes place Wednesday, March 4 — is an opportunity to re-examine how students are being equipped to meet the challenges facing communities around the globe.

“This is the time to rethink how we educate our engineers. AI is changing traditional discipline,” says the Chair of Brock University’s Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering. “We want our students to graduate ready to use integrated knowledge to solve problems that affect real people.”

Wu says the use of AI and machine learning in design, analysis and decision-making processes is growing across civil, mechanical, environmental, software and electrical engineering.

Brock’s multidisciplinary Bachelor of Engineering in Integrated Engineering program aims to help students navigate a rapidly evolving technological landscape by incorporating these tools into key concepts from traditional engineering fields.

“We want to show students that engineering is creative, collaborative and connected to real-world impact,” Wu said.

Outside the classroom, students can put their learning into practice through a co-op stream that offers work terms beginning after second year.

“Experiential learning offers students the opportunity to understand what employers are looking for,” Wu says. “They build networks early, learn workplace expectations and apply what they study in real-world challenges. Those experiences shape them as engineers.”

That integration of academics, AI and industry preparation is helping Estefania Cosme Munoz’s plan for her future career.

The second-year Engineering student is currently preparing for a 16-month co-op with help from Brock faculty and staff. Through the University’s ties to the Niagara community, Engineering students are able to explore a range of networking and experiential learning opportunities in the region’s established manufacturing, agriculture and industrial sectors.

“There is a lot of support,” Cosme Munoz says. “Co-op, Career, and Experiential Education staff review our resumes and help us with interviews, and we’ve had coffee chats with employers. These connections are important as I’m building my professional engineering network. We’ve had meetings on job search strategies. I think it’s been helpful.”

Beyond celebrating the role engineers play in supporting sustainable development, this year World Engineering Day is also highlighting the importance of growing diversity within the profession, as women make up just 16 per cent of engineers worldwide. In response to that gap, Engineers Canada has set the goal of increasing the number of newly licensed engineers who are women to 30 per cent by 2030.

Cosme Munoz is already helping to make the field more inclusive through her work as co-founder of Women in Sciences and Engineering (WISE), a club dedicated to supporting and empowering women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“Engineering is a fun way to learn things. Instead of watching on the sidelines, I want to create something,” she says. “I want to encourage girls to get into engineering.”

Creating STEM learning opportunities is key to encouraging all children and youth to explore careers in these fields, Wu says.

Through Brock’s partnerships with FIRSTRobotics Canada, for example, participants can develop technical, teamwork and communication skills through hands-on robotics challenges.

“Robotics involves coding, design, teamwork and time management,” Wu says. “These skills will benefit students’ future careers. For those who pursue engineering, it’s an early introduction to what the profession can be.”