KELOWNA — Engineering starts at UBC Okanagan in September
2005, when the first 60 students enter the innovative new
Engineering One first-year program that will eventually lead
to four-year degrees graduating up to 180 students per year,
Deputy Vice Chancellor Barry McBride announced today.
“Industry needs this infusion of engineers and engineering
activity in BC’s southern interior,” said Association
of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. Past President
Dick Fletcher. “An Okanagan Industrial Survey conducted
in early 2004 clearly showed very strong support for engineering
programs at UBC Okanagan.”
UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science will offer the program,
with degrees likely available in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer
and Civil Engineering , as well as graduate programs and research
opportunities.
“Linkages between the engineering programs at UBC Okanagan
and UBC Vancouver will be strong,” said McBride. “Having
the Faculty of Applied Science as a bridge across UBC’s
Vancouver and Okanagan campuses will also help to meet requirements
of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board.”
McBride said students at both Kelowna and Vancouver will
be able to transfer at the end of the first-year program to
specific discipline programs offered at either campus. A co-operative
education program, with students alternating between academic
terms and work terms in industry, will also be available.
In addition, a proposal under discussion would allow graduates
of the new Okanagan College’s Engineering Technology
Diploma to take a six-month Bridging Program for transfer
to third year at either UBC campus.
Michael Isaacson, Dean of Applied Science, said Engineering
One will offer full-time studies equivalent to that of UBC
Vancouver, but will have a distinctive pedagogy and delivery
mode, with a close integration between curriculum components
and between fundamentals and applications.
“B.C. has been graduating less than 50 per cent of
engineers per capita relative to the rest of Canada,”
said Isaacson. “We are grateful to the B.C. government
for its commitment to expand student spaces in the province
by 25,000, and for establishing UBC Okanagan. Together we
can begin to address the significant shortfall in engineering
graduates.”
Backgrounder
Engineering at UBC Okanagan
In August 2004, UBC Dean of Applied Science Michael Isaacson
established the UBCO Engineering Task Force, with faculty
members from both UBC and Okanagan University College. Associate
Dean Perry Adebar, a professor of Civil Engineering, chaired
the Task Force.
In December, the Task Force issued a draft report with a
number of recommendations to develop Engineering at UBC Okanagan.
The Task Force consulted existing reports and key interest
groups such as the Okanagan Science and Technology Council
and UBC’s Engineering Advisory Council and worked closely
with local industry representatives and business leaders.
The Task Force Report recommended that programs offered
in second year and beyond at UBC Okanagan should include civil
engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical
engineering, with the use of common second-year courses wherever
possible. Distinctive options within each discipline will
be offered at the campus in third and fourth years. Students
at both Kelowna and Vancouver will be able to transfer to
specific discipline programs offered at either campus.
The Task Force recommended an emphasis on providing students
with the development of “metaskills” — including
leadership abilities, professional ethics, conflict resolution,
business economics, strategic planning, environmental and
sustainability considerations, teamwork skills, written and
oral communication and multi-criteria project assessment —
through regular courses and extra-curricular activities.
Linkages with industry will also be a significant factor
in the success of Engineering programs developed for the Okanagan.
The Faculty plans to develop partnerships with local industry,
and is currently establishing an Industry Advisory Council
for UBC Okanagan Engineering.
Coupled with the establishment of strong baccalaureate programs
will be the development of graduate programs in specific areas
and a vibrant research presence. Areas of existing Okanagan
regional strength such as aeronautical engineering, water
resource management, and radio engineering, will benefit from
UBC Okanagan’s research and technology transfer capacity.
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