On January 20th, 2023, 170 engineering students from across the Atlantic provinces travelled to Dalhousie Sexton campus to participate in the annual Atlantic Engineering Competition. Dalhousie hosted the competition this year, with 26 hard-working students responsible for organizing and planning every last detail. Dal students from all three campuses competed, along with students from UPEI, UNB, StFX, Memorial, Acadia, SMU, and UdeM. The competition consisted of eight categories: Junior Design, Senior Design, Consulting, Debate, Communications, Programming, Innovative design, and Re-engineering. Dalhousie covered almost every category with 40 competitors and created an ultra-competitive team. Students contested for the opportunity to win a coveted Atlantic scarf and a spot at the 2023 Canadian Engineering Competition hosted by the University of Waterloo in February.

Whether it’s a cozy family gathering, a lively social event, or a blackout night during a snowstorm, board games never fail to be a reliable and entertaining option. Recognizing that board games are a staple, DalBox Build a Board Game Challenge took place on Sexton Campus on the 10th and 11th of February and gave the participants a platform to showcase their creativity and ingenuity by constructing their own board games.

Over the weekend on February 17th-19th, the Université de Moncton hosted this year’s Engineering Leadership Summit (ELS). ELS is a conference put on every year by the Atlantic Council of Engineering Students (ACES). Half of ELS is devoted to the lecture series on leadership and the other half for the governing body of ACES to hold elections for their executive board and make policy changes in their General Assembly. The theme of ELS this year was the Four Pillars of Leadership: Talent Development, Communications, Responsibility and Vision. The lecture series was held in one of UdeM’s auditoriums and this lecture space taught us something important: not all auditorium seats have to be as uncomfortable as G109.

We open on G109, the Irving Auditorium, people sparsely distributed around the room enjoying the luxurious seating. As per usual there are a few people up front navigating the treacherous waters of connecting a laptop and opening a presentation while broadcasting on Zoom. While this may seem like just another Tuesday in the auditorium there is one vital difference: the audience is genuinely interested in the presentation (well I suppose most of the audience, excluding the students only there to receive the extra credit given in the hydrogeology course). On Tuesday February 7, esteemed hydrogeologist, John Cherry, held a presentation on the importance of groundwater

Have you ever wondered how you can get an engineering degree in Canada and practice not only in every province but internationally? This is all because of a process called accreditation, performed by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) and is part of a larger, international agreement called the Washington Accord. The Washington Accord has 21 international signatories that allows people to get an engineering degree in one country and have that degree recognized in the other 20. To make this possible, all engineering programs must be accredited.