TRU’s first five students in the Software Engineering program graduated this past spring. It was a remarkable achievement for the graduates — Lorelei Guidos, Kaleab Befikadu, James Hiroki Howe, Cem Doganay and Ahmed Haroon — for the university and for the Department of Engineering.
And more good news soon followed.
Bright future
On Thursday, July 7, after a rigorous peer-review process, the Software Engineering program became accredited under the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), a professional body responsible for the accreditation of all undergraduate engineering programs across the country.
Because of this outstanding accomplishment, students can take the next step in their engineering careers.
“One of the main benefits of graduating from an accredited engineering program is that students meet the academic requirements to become a licensed professional engineer (P.Eng.) with Canada’s engineering regulators, which ultimately increases graduate employment opportunities,” says Associate Dean of Science Faheem Ahmed.
Those graduates can also now be properly compensated for the important work they do.
“Being able to register as a professional engineer allows for greater employment opportunities at more competitive salaries, making more money than nonprofessional engineers,” says Dean of Science Greg Anderson.
While remaining optimistic about the success and future growth of the only Software Engineering program offered in the BC Interior, Anderson and Ahmed recognize the hard work that’s been done.
“To get the Software Engineering program in 2018, to graduate a class in 2022 — during COVID, no less — and then to have the program accredited that same year, that’s a coup for TRU,” says Anderson. “We needed this to happen to have a robust student body and opportunities to extend our engineering offerings.”
“This achievement is a result of support from leadership which provided necessary skills, training and resources — a team effort involving students, faculty and staff of the Departments of Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physical and Computing Science,” adds Ahmed.
