PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFE SIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In Their Words
Consider the following topics: geomatics, geoethics, cyber security, water treatment using steam-assisted gravity drainage, APEGA practice reviews, advanced negotiating, cannabis laws in the workplace, diversity and inclusion, leading through communication, and psychologically healthy workplaces. Now, what do they have in common? All of them—and many more—were included in the lineup of PD sessions at APEGA AGM & Annual Conference 2019, April 25 and 26, in Calgary. Attendees told us that the range of topics, deliv- ered by diverse and engaging presenters, made the PD sessions an excellent use of their time. In all, our PD program garnered 205 registrations, up more than 50 per cent over the year before. Following are the thoughts of six members who attended the PD portion of the conference this year. All were first-time attenders of the annual offering of technical, regulatory, career development, and other sessions.
FEMI FARINU, P.ENG. Calgary
I think this is great! I focused more on the soft skills side of things—topics like communication skills, how to hold effective meetings, things like that. I really enjoyed the session on cyber security. The presenter looked at how it applies to both your work and home environments, and explored where we might be headed with new technologies. I was surprised to learn about the progress being made on artificial intelligence, the incorporation of the emotional quotient, and how technologies may make decisions for us in the future. That was pretty scary, but also quite insightful. To tell you the truth, coming in I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just wanted to get some CPD hours. But I learned a lot and I would encourage others to take advantage of similar sessions—it was absolutely worth the time and registrations fees. And I like the balance that APEGA offered.
ANJUM MULLICK, P.ENG. Edmonton
Professional development is invaluable, not only for yourself personally but also to help your employer. It’s great for networking, too. There are
so many aspects to it—not only learning. I thought the sessions I attended were very well organized, with a broad variety of topics to appeal to a wide audience. I’m part of the team that received the Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion Summit Award, this year, and I was also a speaker on a diversity and inclusion panel. The panel represented diverse perspectives from industry, government, and academia. We discussed barriers—but also solutions—that we can move towards to increase the percentage of women in engineering and geoscience. APEGA has a goal to increase the number of female engineers to 30 per cent by 2030. As chair of the Women in APEGA group, I think it’s important that we start having more conversations like this, to help us meet our goal. There are too few practising female engineers and geoscientists, so it’s important for me to stay involved with APEGA, to help make sure that we get more young women into the professions and retain them.
50 | PEG SUMMER 2019
SUMMER 2019 PEG | 50
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