Events

The Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office joins the University of Toronto in condemning anti-Asian racism, misogyny, and all forms of racial violence. There is no denying the pain, sadness, and anger that many are feeling given recent events of racial and gender-based violence in Atlanta, Georgia. As we navigate and action-plan during these difficult times, the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office invites the community to collectively gather to confront, resist and denounce racism, anti-Asian racism, and White supremacy. Join us as we ignite love, compassion, support and restoration while building community during these challenging times.

This space will center a presentation and Q &A with May Lui, Educator and Consultant, on the topic, “Confronting Anti-Asian Racism: What you Need to Know”. This conversation will explore the complexities of anti-Asian racism, its impact and the principles that must be centered as we move forward to meaningful change.

• Format: Presentation and Q & A, followed by a closure activity.
• Platform: Virtual- Zoom.
• Audience: Racialized voices will be prioritized. Allies are welcome to attend. Open to students, staff, faculty, librarians, chaplains, and external community.

Please note that Jia Yao and Bristy Chakrabarty from the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre, will be available for support during this event.

Event Program:

• Opening Remarks: Karima Hashmani, Executive Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion | Office of Vice-President Human Resources & Equity
• Remarks and Moment of Silence: Dr. Joseph Wong, Vice President, International | University of Toronto
• Keynote Presentation: May Lui, Educator and Consultant
• Closure Activity: Co-Facilitated by Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre

RSVP by November 5 to uoft.me/realtalk

You’re invited to a night of Real Talk with engineering alumni about the intersection of engineering skills and social change. Equip yourself with knowledge that can help you make decisions about when to act for social change versus when to step back, learn how to find your way when you want to contribute your engineering skills but don’t know how, and better understand how engineers can strike a balance between supporting others and empowering themselves to lead.

This night will offer:

• Tools and take-aways from working alumni that you can use as you decide on and a plan a course to contribute to social justice initiatives with engineering skills and expertise.
• Find out how engineering alumni have empowered themselves,
• The hard lessons they’ve learned about social change work, how they’ve adjusted their approaches and persevered
• The power of deep listening
•  A chance for you to plot your own steps towards empowering yourself and others in the face of overwhelming projects for systemic change, including preliminary learning.

Join us for a talk and Q&A with John Desjarlais (P.Eng., MBA) and Matthew Dunn (P.Eng., M.Sc.) as they discuss the connections between engineering and Indigenous peoples through design and ethics.

John Desjarlais is Nehinaw Métis from Kaministikominahiko-skak. John is the General Manager at Great Plains Contracting and the President-Elect for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS).

Matthew Dunn is Dene and a citizen of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Matthew is the Senior Strategic Officer, Indigenous Engagement at the University of Saskatchewan.

John and Matthew are also the co-Presidents of the Saskatchewan Professional Chapter of the Canadian Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (.caISES).

Read an interview with the panelists in the U of T Engineering News.

Part of the Towards Inclusive Practices Series (TIPS) hosted by the Engineering Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Action Group.

Join Professor Elham Marzi (ISTEP) in conversation with U of T Engineering alumnus and entrepreneur Ian Small (EngSci 8T6, MSc CompSci 8T9) as he shares insights and advice gained from over three decades of working in engineering startups and management.

Topics will include how to manage and lead change, how to make challenging organizational decisions, and how to help employees and company culture navigate transitions.

Speaker bio:

Ian Small has spent more than 30 years in Silicon Valley since graduating from the University of Toronto, working in tech companies ranging from three-person startups to 100,000-employee multinationals. He first worked as a software engineer, and spent time in software engineering management and software product management before transitioning into a range of business leadership roles.

Ian currently serves on the boards of Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of lasers and photonic devices) and Snapdocs (a venture-backed startup driving mortgage automation). Ian has worked with a number of Sequoia Capital portfolio companies, including working as CEO of Evernote (personal productivity software), CEO of TokBox (video platform-as-a-service), and a lengthy stint with MarkLogic (NoSQL database). Ian also served as Global Chief Data Officer at Telefónica, following its acquisition of TokBox, served on the advisory board to Loon (a Google X Labs spinout), and started his Silicon Valley career in the Human Interface Group at Apple Computer.

Ian’s experience in Silicon Valley includes fundraising, tech mergers and acquisitions (both as buyer and seller), and tech spinouts. Ian graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (Computer Science option) and an M.Sc. in Computer Science, and is a holder of more than 10 patents.

Moderator:

Professor Elham Marzi is a Teaching Stream faculty member in the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice (ISTEP). She teaches in areas inclusive of Organizational Behaviour, HRM, Strategy,and Negotiations in the Business Minor Program.

This event will be a moderated fireside chat with audience Q&A.

Register to attend in person or virtually
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 | 6-7 PM EST
In-person: HS610, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street
Virtual: Zoom link will be emailed to you after registration

Questions? Please email Professor Elham Marzi at elham.marzi@utoronto.ca.

U of T Engineering alumni, join us for this monthly series. Learn about exciting research in diverse subjects from U of T Engineering professors.

Virtual: A Zoom link will be sent to all guests who registered.
Cost: Free

*NEW INITIATIVE*

By registering for the Skule Lunch & Learn event, you can earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits. CPD is essential for professional engineers and limited licence holders to renew their licenses annually.

To determine if this Skule Lunch & Learn presentation can be counted towards your CPD hours, please consider the following criteria from PEO & PEAK Program:

• Contribute to enhancing or maintaining the practitioner’s engineering competence,
• Feature engineering learning content relevant to their practice area
• Provide technical or regulatory knowledge pertaining to professional engineering acts,
• Not count as their professional practice hours or acts of professional engineering.