"Our goal is to ensure that all our students graduate with a comprehensive understanding of Canada's Indigenous histories, cultures and practices so that they may become ethical, informed and empathic engineers."
Florence Belanger-Jones
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Applied Science
- Grad year: 2020
- Program:
- Campus: Okanagan
I come from a family of geologists and engineers. I spent the first 20 years of my life travelling the world and resisting the temptation to study a STEM field. I originally started my post-secondary education in International Studies, hoping to travel for work and create positive change through diplomacy. I ended up studying civil engineering instead. This has allowed me to do much of what I had hoped with a focus on Indigenous community partnerships and engineering for international development.
What has made your time at UBC memorable?
I have been working with Dr. Jannik Eikenaar and Dr. Ian Foulds from the School of Engineering since September 2018. We are making curriculum-based changes within all four years of the program, focusing our efforts on including Indigenous-based content in our courses. Our project is rooted in UBC's Aboriginal Strategic Plan, which calls for more meaningful actions addressing Indigenous concerns in education. We rely heavily on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in education as a tool for reconciliation through increased action and awareness. Our goal is to ensure that all our students graduate with a comprehensive understanding of Canada's Indigenous histories, cultures and practices so that they may become ethical, informed and empathic engineers who are ready to engage in meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities.
Working on this project has given me a sense of purpose and an avenue to pursue now that I have graduated. Although I have so many wonderful memories of my time at UBC, I feel like the culmination of my work on this project is my biggest achievement so far, both personally and academically.
Dr. Jannik Eikenaar Dr. Ian Foulds
Tell us about your experience in your program. What have you learned that is most valuable?
The most important thing I learned throughout my degree was how to solve problems.
Much of engineering is just figuring out how to tackle a problem, and once you do, the work itself is generally straightforward. Spending the time to really understand the problem you are tackling, the context and the key driving factors is arguably the most important step. This kind of logical, step-by-step thinking and design process is invaluable, especially when working in industry.
What advice would you give students entering your degree program?
Make sure to expand your interests beyond just the degree program and technical projects you undertake as part of your course credits. The more activities you do outside of engineering the better. It is really important to understand that engineers think and work differently from other disciplines. Get some experience working with inter-discplinary teams whether it be volunteering, playing on a sports team or participating on a committee. This is the best way to meet people outside of engineering and learn how to collaborate.
What are your immediate plans for the future?
I will be pursuing a post-graduate MSc at University College London (UCL) in Engineering for International Development starting September 2020.
