OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 6

viewpoint

Go Ahead - Change the World -
We've Got Your Back!
If there is one thing that this year's Canada 150 celebrations have reminded the
world, it's that beyond the token examples of Canadian ingenuity, Canadians - and
more specifically Canadian engineers - have produced more devices, materials
and processes that have changed the world, than are typically recognized. OSPE's
growing Canada 150 list (ospe.on.ca/Canada150) showcases the sheer breadth
of Canadian engineering innovation, from the controversial but cutting-edge
Avro Arrow that took to the skies in 1958, to the state-of-the-art SNOLAB facility
that takes engineers and scientists two kilometres below the ground to study rare
interactions and processes.
Looking towards the next 150 years, I believe that the nature of innovation is
changing. There are now more opportunities than ever to build start-up enterprises
based on applied engineering and niche value propositions. Engineers remain at
the forefront of innovation, providing technical expertise in many of these start-up
ventures. However, as government programs provide an increasing amount of
support to foster this culture of innovation and to harness the associated economic
benefits, it is critical that engineers become more involved in helping frame the
policies and programs that will impact the next generation of inventors and provide
optimum value to start-up companies.
There will also be impacts to our regulatory framework as we attempt to certify
engineering graduates as professional engineers, when these graduates have gained
much of their experience in start-up enterprises. While this may pose challenges,
as engineers become more engaged in public policy initiatives, I am confident that
we can effectively adapt.
Recently, the Ontario and federal governments have demonstrated their
leadership and commitment to collaborative innovation through the establishment
of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of Toronto
which strives to graduate the most Master's and PhD students in deep learning
and machine learning, globally. This investment has helped secure Toronto as a
world leader in the transformative field of AI - an area of scientific, academic and
commercial activity that will shape our world over the next generation. The Vector
Institute ambitiously seeks to become the engine for an AI supercluster that drives
the economies of Toronto, Ontario and Canada in fields as diverse as finance, clean
tech, retail and health care, to name a few.
Through its Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI), the federal government is
currently processing the applications of business-led entities in highly innovative
industries that will encourage large-scale collaboration, advance a supercluster
advantage, and accelerate competitive commercial and global opportunities. This
is an ideal means to bring together engineers from across industry and academia to
create substantial cluster activities that will have a lasting and measurable economic
impact.
The development of these ideas requires vision, determination and effort. At
OSPE, we support engineers with exactly this type of game-changing vision and
leadership. In this edition of The Voice, you will meet four ambitious engineers who
are making a difference in society. The scope of their work tangibly demonstrates
the extensive impact that engineering has on so many aspects of our lives today.
To ensure the next 150 years are as prosperous as the past 150, we need engineers
to stand bold in their aspirations to change the world. Get involved and lead the
way! At OSPE - we've got your back.

6

The VOICe

September 2017

Message froM Your
president

Looking towards the next
150 years, I believe that
the nature of innovation is
changing. There are now more
opportunities than ever to
build start-up enterprises
based on applied engineering
and niche value propositions.

Jonathan Hack, p.eng., mbA, pmp
President and Chair, OsPe
http://ospe.on.ca/Canada150
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - September 2017
