Fireside with the Dean

Engineering, Science and Education

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How McMaster Engineering has pivoted during COVID-19

How McMaster Engineering has pivoted during COVID-19

McMaster Engineering is a community that pivots.

Our community of researchers, instructors, staff and students is quick to embrace change and meet new challenges.

No challenge has been greater than COVID-19.

Like many sectors, higher education has had to evolve rapidly to meet the challenge posed by this virus. I am proud to report that our faculty and staff have embraced these…

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Our pledge to students

This is our pledge to students: Our commitment to your learning and engagement prevails whether you are taught in person or online.

Learning together in person is a gift, one most of us took for granted before. The opportunity to bounce ideas off one another or grasp something tangible in your hand is a key part of the experience of engineering education.

Hands-on experiences within the classroom and outside it are an important part of our DNA at McMaster Engineering.

And these experiences will happen again, we hope…

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Every community needs guiding principles

Every community needs guiding principles to empower it to become a resilient group of difference makers.

Our Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University marked its 60th anniversary in a very meaningful way. 

We celebrated our 60th anniversary year with a year-long Big Ideas campaign that brought our community together and payed homage to our history of pedagogical innovation and pathbreaking research.

Our Applause & Accoladesevent pivoted to share stories of innovation driven by students…

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It will be a Happy New Year!

It will be a Happy New Year! Learning is n't an obstacle course to be mastered by our students, but a fulsome experience to become flexible in a rapidly changing world.

We are sometimes consumed by financial constraints, employer skepticism about skills we impart to students, and disinterest in support for higher education.

But we do good – lots of it. Our students will become the foremost leaders of tomorrow. 

Keeping students in mind, here is a simple prescription to guarantee an optimistic 2020.

We can often assume a false trade-off between academic…

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Why research with impact requires purpose and teamwork

Collaborative research leads to remarkable results and learning, but collaborations are complicated ventures that must be nurtured.

Evidence indicates that collaborative research leads to remarkable results, improved productivity and meaningful outcomes. Working in teams, members contribute different disciplinary perspectives and it helps if they work in proximity.

Ben Jones of Northwestern University analyzed 22 million academic publications and patents over five decades. He found that the size of research teams increased…

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Why we are offering digital credentials for learners and using blockchain to do so

Why we are offering digital credentials for learners and using blockchain to do so

Just over five years ago, I was confirmed as a low-risk traveler and hence pre-approved for travel into Canada and the United States. On a typical journey, I no longer have to show a travel document, such as a passport, to a border security officer.

Instead, my NEXUSstatus is a digital credential that allows me to use automated self-serve kiosks at airports to enter either country, along with…

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What is Good, What is Bad?

A typical engineering graduate has capable technical skills. But have we taught her to separate the good from the bad?

The benefits of engineering education are known. Engineering graduates integrate scientific and engineering principles and develop products and processes that contribute to economic growth and other social advances. Thus, high-quality employment is created and new enterprises are established.

A typical graduate of a Canadian engineering program has capable technical skills. But have we taught…

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Self disruption in the university

Self disruption in the university

Recently, Stephen Elop, tech industry giant and distinguished engineering executive in residence at McMaster University, articulated the important concept of self-disruption for businesses during a lecture that he delivered to our students.

Evoking, his career, he discussed how industries must continually reinvent themselves to survive and thrive through “self-disruptive innovation”. The…

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Personal History: Five Years Later

Personal History: Five Years Later

Upon first arriving at McMaster University, I entered a Faculty that had high aspirations. While globally recognized for its education and research, we had not, however, consistently benchmarked ourselves against other exemplars of demonstrated excellence.

Therefore, my first step, five years ago, was to identify benchmark data and other evidence and use it to create a sense of urgency for change.

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Do they matter: Academic rankings

Do they matter: Academic rankings

Recently, ShanghaiRanking reported that McMaster Engineering was rated among the best in the world for sixteen academic disciplines after considering programs at more than 18,000 universities worldwide.

The Faculty climbed in these global rankings. Worldwide, our civil engineering program is ranked 30th, metallurgical engineering has jumped up to 45th, and transportation science and technology…

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Letter to a new graduate: Handling the interview

Letter to a new graduate: Handling the interview

Congratulations!  You are now a new graduate.

If you are a McMaster engineer, there’s a 65% likelihood that you’ve already found your first job.  Sixty percent of those with jobs in your cohort have salary offers in the $55,000 to $75,000 per year range while 8% will earn more than $75,000.

However, you might be among the 35% of fresh McMaster Engineering graduates who are still looking for a…

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