ENCS: A faculty in transition and facing the future
Dean Nabil Esmail began his presentation to the May 17 Board of Governors meeting by presenting a few statistics that say much about the recent development and future of the faculty.
The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science boasts one of the youngest professorates among engineering schools in the country. There have been 76 new hires over the last eight years. This has added a dynamism and energy to the school that Esmail says “will reach its full potential in five to 10 years.”
Growth in undergraduate population has jumped 145 per cent since 1998-99, far outstripping other major engineering schools. Likewise, graduate enrolment has risen 118 per cent over the same period, by far the highest growth rate of engineering schools in Canada.
ENCS is now one of the “G15” major engineering schools in Canada.
Graduate students constitute 33.9 per cent of the ENCS student population. This has an extremely positive budget impact for the faculty because government grants for graduate studies are three to four times greater than those for undergraduates. This also has benefits in terms of FTEs per professor. Given the higher grants, the faculty benefits from a better student-professor ratio. Interestingly enough, Esmail said that 74 per cent of ENCS graduates stay in Quebec.
On the research front, the research grant performance of ENCS has risen from $3.5 million in 2000-01 to over $7 million in 2005-06. Likewise, industrial research contracts have gone from just over $1 million to just under $4 million during the same period. Total external research funding rose from just under $4 million in 2001 to over $12 million in 2006-07.
Research success is also reflected in academic publications. Concordia ranks in the top five in the country in terms of the number of publications per NSERC research grants.
Speaking of the impact of the new EV Building complex on research, Esmail said, “We have some of the most concentrated engineering brain power in one building in Quebec and perhaps Canada; it is a beehive of innovation.”
Esmail gave some striking examples of recent student success, including the OCTAS 2006 award for the groundbreaking work of its computer security students, top awards for doctoral dissertations and undergraduate wins in student engineering competitions.
Programs like CIADI have become models for university-industry cooperation (see story). He also highlighted the groundbreaking work of professors in areas such as solar power, composites, water technology and decontamination, building materials and building technology, telecommunication systems and MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems).
Facing new challenges presented by the globalization of the industry, outsourcing of engineering jobs and global competition for students, the faculty is re-aligning on several fronts. There will be an emphasis on skills-based learning and training in innovation to introduce new programs that respond to industry and student needs. There will be more and better training in innovation, design, entrepreneurship and communication skills, as well as improved local, national and international recruitment.
CIADI graduate Danny Di Perna is now Senior Vice President, Operations & Supply, Air Canada Technical Services, and member of Concordia’s Board of Governors. He echoed the dean’s enthusiasm by explaining that the faculty is known for producing well-trained students who are working in industry all over the world. The mix of academic and real-life experience is what sets ENCS graduates apart, he said.