On October 3rd, 2024, the Dalhousie Mechanical Engineering Society (Dal Mech Eng Society) hosted its "Pints with Profs" event at the T-Room, a casual gathering that drew over 100 students from various engineering disciplines. The evening was a huge success, creating a laid-back space for students and professors to connect over drinks, games, and food. Students appreciated the rare opportunity to engage with their faculty members outside of the academic setting, helping foster stronger relationships between them and their professors.

On March 30th, the Dalhousie EngiQueers hosted the first edition of Drag Force, a student-run drag show highlighting the talents of student and community drag performers. The event aimed to create a safe space for queer individuals and allies alike to engage in the joys that drag culture has to offer. Sponsored by Engineers Nova Scotia and The Sextant, the show took place at the T-Room and had a great turnout! 

On September 19th, 2024, Dalhousie University held its "Promoting Community Connections on Sexton Campus" event in the Emera IDEA Building Atrium. Running from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the event saw over 200 engineering students come together to learn about the various student supports and services available on campus. The event was not only informative but fun, with interactive activities, trivia, and giveaways to keep students engaged.

Over reading week, Dalhousie sent me along with six Engineering students to the 2024 Conference on Sustainability in Engineering (CSE) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) with the theme of ‘The Essential Engineer’. As a first-year student that is passionate about sustainability and the environment attending my first conference, I was excited to see how engineering and sustainability go hand in hand.

On January 19th, 2024, engineering students from across the Atlantic region began their journey to Fredericton, New Brunswick, for a weekend to remember. Students prepared themselves for the highly anticipated Atlantic Engineering Competition (AEC) hosted this year by the University of New Brunswick. For Dalhousie competitors, the weather was sunny and just right for the four-hour drive across the border. Students arrived in the city on Friday afternoon to check in to their accommodations and scope out the competition. There wasn't much time to settle in before the opening ceremonies began. The student organizers…

Over this past reading week, Dalhousie sent a delegation of seven engineering students to the 2024 Conference on Sustainability in Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). As a second-year mechanical engineering student passionate about the environment and the renewable energy transition, I was excited at the prospect of meeting other like-minded individuals from across Canada and hearing from leading industry experts.

During the weekend of February 16th to 18th I had the privilege of attending the ACES annual

Engineering Leadership Summit (ELS). While at the conference I attended several sessions

that gave me a lot of valuable insight and advice on my engineering journey.

At the Engineering Leadership Summit (ELS) 2024 hosted by UNB Saint John, there were a plethora of opportunities for delegates to engage with their peers, form meaningful connections, and procure essential knowledge related to leadership and teamwork. This conference was oriented around giving motivated students the skills and knowledge required to build a community or event at their school.

The act of taking risks to change who you are currently into what you want to be. Throughout this presentation Susan Murray talked about how what we do today will create who we are tomorrow, and how this is incredibly important. The boldsteps mindset is based on the foundations of KNOWING who you are compared to what you want to be, DOING what needs to be done in order to take that step, and BEING that person you’ve always aspired to be.

On the weekend of January 26th, 2024, the strongest four (4) chess players from Dalhousie embarked on their journey to represent Atlantic Canada in the 2024 Canadian University Chess Championship (CUCC). Hosted at Queen’s University, this annual competition features Canada’s top chess talent from across the country in a weekend-long struggle to crown the top performing University.

This January, I had the great honor of representing Dalhousie at the Canadian Engineering Leadership Conference (CELC). Early morning on New Year's Day, I hugged my sleepy parents goodbye in front of the Ottawa airport and pushed my cart of luggage towards St. John’s, Newfoundland. All I could think about was petting puffins, seeing icebergs, kissing cods, and my extreme unlikelihood to do anything but the latter. Once I had sipped some bitter plane coffee and finished two Biscoff cookies, my thoughts focused on the real purpose of this journey: to learn, to meet, and to bring it all home. 

At the end of October, six executive members of the Dalhousie Women in Engineering Society attended the world’s largest conference for women in engineering, hosted in Los Angeles, California. The Society of Women Engineers Conference (SWE23) is an annual conference for students and professional engineers to gain professional development skills and network with other women within their fields. Hosted from October 26th-28th, the conference was filled with opportunities to learn from speeches by industry professionals and to network at the career fair.

Ever stop by the Heavy Prototyping Lab on Sexton Campus? Well, you are sure to spot NOVA, Dalhousie’s very own fully functional solar car!

In 2021, when electrical engineering student Gina Park looked to join an engineering design team, something was missing. She wanted a hands-on, sustainability-centric, and technically challenging project that would better prepare students for future careers in the clean energy sector. It was from this astute observation and passion for innovation that Dalhousie Solar Car team (DalSol) was born!

The 3-day Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE) 2023 was hosted by the renowned University of Waterloo Engineering campus in beautiful Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. More than 130 participants partook from over 25 Engineering universities throughout Canada. The theme of the conference, "Be Brave, Feel Safe, Take Up Space", resonated deeply with me and many of my peers as we were ready to embark on an enriching and transformative journey.

Despite Mother Nature's persistence, the 14th Annual Dalhousie and TUNS Alumni Golf Tournament emerged as a resounding success, uniting alumni and dedicated student volunteers for a day filled with camaraderie and fundraising in support of various engineering societies at Dalhousie University's Sexton Campus. The event, hosted at the beautiful Glen Arbour golf course located in Hammonds Plains, NS, provided a platform for alumni to discover the opportunities these societies offer to Dal Eng students.

On September 5th, the new first-year engineering students gathered in Ondaatje Hall on Studley campus for orientation. They listened to a speech from the Acting Dean, Yi Liu, and got to meet some of the faculty, the President of DUES, and the President of DES (yours truly), then they headed out to Wickwire field. At Wickwire, they were greeted by volunteers handing out Dal Eng t-shirts and patches. They were divided into groups based on their blocks so they could meet the people that they would share labs and tutorials with. Before leaving Wickwire, they spent some time getting to know each other and learning engineering chants from the Head Gearhead, Moragh Shaw.

Are you nervous about your first weeks at Dalhousie? So were we a few years ago, but we made it through! Below, the executive team from the Dalhousie Sextant gives some advice for you to hit the ground running.