Introducing the 2027 Engineering Science Education Conference (ESEC)!

As a student interested in energy systems, listening to Dr. Damian Frost talk about his company Brill Power, developing state-of-the-art smart batteries, furthered my passion for sustainable energy.

I am extremely appreciative of the opportunity obtained at ESEC 2021 to be inspired and learn from leaders around the world.

The ESEC speakers were extremely passionate and experienced in their fields, which really inspired me.

The conference was also a great chance to see beyond the EngSci and everything it has to offer in my future career. It made me excited for the future but also gave me a glimpse into the possible majors I really am excited to pursue! 

Though I have zero interest in aerospace, it was empowering to hear Kristen Facciol's story and that it's okay to not know exactly what you want to do.  Just be open to new and interesting experiences as they present themselves and that you'll find your way as you go.

I still wonder what I'm doing in EngSci and what I'm going to do afterwards, but she's inspired me to continue being passionate about what I'm learning and to let that drive me and my career forward. 

In my first year I was dead-set on choosing the aerospace major, but after hearing several captivating ESEC talks I discovered a new interest in robotics.

Through networking at the event I learned what aerospace truly looks like in industry. I am still in touch with one of the speakers and consider her a mentor on my new journey towards pursuing robotics.

ESEC is a great opportunity for Years 1 and 2 EngSci students to get exposure to fields they may not have considered.

For instance, although I was not that interested in biomedical engineering, I learned a great deal about application of Internet of Things in hospitals from the ESEC talk by Aviv Gladman. 

In first year, I felt a lot of anxiety about what to major in and what opportunities were available for me after EngSci. I didn't know how I would apply the things I learned in the real world.

ESEC eased a lot of my anxiety and was a great opportunity to network and receive advice from leaders of their respective fields. I'm very grateful for the guidance I received at ESEC 2020. 

Even though I had no experience in the medical field, I was able to connect with Dr. Arthur Slutsky at ESEC 2019, who was the VP of Research at St. Michael's Hospital.

We discussed machine learning applications in healthcare, and from this conversation, I ended up doing my PEY at St. Michael's Hospital. I got to work on a lot of interesting projects and had a fantastic experience! 

The best part about ESEC is seeing how leaders of industry and academia carved their own path.

Naomi Ginsberg's journey from EngSci to grad school to teaching chemistry and doing research with improving image capture in microscope at UC Berkeley taught me to appreciate unexpected opportunities.

ESEC was an incredibly fun and meaningful experience!

One of my favourite speakers was Prof. Jessica Burgner-Kahrs, whose research on continuum robots piqued my interest and encouraged me to study robotics, a field that I would not necessarily have considered otherwise.