Registration is now open for Engineers Canada and Polytechnique Montréal’s massive open online course, Sustainability in Practice. Offered in both English and French, the course uses real-life case studies from across Canada to demonstrate the practical application of Engineers Canada’s guideline on sustainable development and environmental stewardship for engineers.
This is the fifth time Sustainability in Practice has been offered since it was first launched in the fall of 2018. It is available worldwide and has already been taken by close to 6,800 people globally over the first four offerings of the course.
“Hearing from professionals from several sectors and regions enriched the presentations and gave us practical examples of how the concepts can be applied,” said Renato Ferreira of Montreal, QC, who participated in the second edition of the course in spring 2019.
Varinder Mittal of Regina, SK, agreed, saying that “the case studies give an opportunity to learn about the adoption of environmental and social concerns in practice. It was a [great] learning experience.”
Engineers Canada’s guideline outlines 10 principles of sustainable development and environment stewardship. The course demonstrates how to apply each of these 10 principles in their engineering practice.
Participants of the first four editions of the course have been engineers and non-engineers alike, and have worked in consulting engineering, government, education, construction, manufacturing, education, oil and gas, renewable resources, utilities, mining, and non-governmental organizations.
After all four previous editions of the course, an overwhelming majority of participants have attested to the high quality of the training content and agreed that what they learned would be useful to them in their professional and personal life. More than 95 per cent of participants have said that they would recommend the course to a colleague or friend.
“As a consulting engineer, I found many useful examples where I can help make a difference in my own work,” said April Waddell of Ottawa, ON, who took the first edition of the course in fall 2018.
Paul Lusina of Vancouver, BC, likewise found that “the MOOC provide[d] a sound introduction to sustainability concepts, which can be readily adapted to teaching modules for undergraduate engineering programs.”
Ibrahim Olutayo Adenij of Ottawa, ON, similarly said that the value of the course could expand beyond engineers, saying that it was “a good learning experience not only for engineers, but also practitioners of other professions.”
The fifth edition of Sustainability in Practice begins October 21, 2020. Participants have until December 12, 2020, to complete the online course at their own pace. Registration closes on December 2, 2020. An optional Certificate of Completion is available following successful completion of the course at a cost of $75 CAN.
Register today for Sustainability in Practice on the EduLib website.