Students walking on campus

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Ensuring and fostering a positive environment where everyone who’s part of the Faculty of Engineering can feel safe, valued, and respected.

Our roadmap

The Faculty of Engineering is committed to developing strategies, policies, and practices that support equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). 

EDI methodology

Our approach to achieving a more equitable, inclusive academic environment is through consensus building and consultation with the EDI Advisory Committee. The work focuses on four pillars: policies, people, programs and proficiencies, based on the Building a Race-Conscious Institution Report published by Universities Canada. Together, they create the strategic EDI framework applied across our faculty.  

The four pillars are essential to creating more equitable and inclusive academic environments, promoting structural, curricular, compositional and interactional diversity.  

Accessibility is also an advisory committee priority, one addressed through each of the four pillars. We believe that our labs, facilities and spaces should provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all activities. 

Students walking in front of SITE building at uOttawa.

EDI Advisory Committee

The EDI Advisory Committee guides the Faculty’s efforts to support EDI-aligned activities, focusing on the needs of five underrepresented groups: women, Indigenous people, visible minorities/racialized persons, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ2S+ persons. 

Committee members

The committee is comprised of:  

  • Professors
  • Undergraduate and graduate students  
  • Staff from faculty departments  
  • Outreach, communications and IT staff
  • Representatives of the Engineering Student Society (ESS) and Professional Development Club (PDC)  

This ensures representation of diverse, inclusive perspectives and knowledge. As well, to facilitate the committee’s work, five task groups were created to focus on policies, people, programs, proficiencies and accessibility.   

Our initiatives

The Faculty of Engineering is developing various initiatives to enhance and promote equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Our short-term goal is to develop and support the following initiatives:

  • Scholarships and financial aid: Creating scholarships and financial aid opportunities for underrepresented student groups to provide better access to education.  
  • Inclusive programs and curriculums: Developing inclusive programs and curriculums that reflect the diversity of our students, ensuring everyone feels valued and supported.
  • EDI training: Providing training on current EDI research, best practices and emerging trends.
  • Building an EDI community: Hosting EDI events and activities that celebrate diversity, encourage engagement and foster belonging. 

Email Ghasan Doudak, Vice-Dean, EDI and Governance to express interest in supporting EDI-related initiatives at the Faculty of Engineering.

Three students smiling looking forward.

Increasing the number of women in engineering — the “30 by 30” commitment 

Engineers Canada, in collaboration with engineering regulators and stakeholders, is driving the “30 by 30” initiative to increase women’s representation within the engineering profession. This initiative sets a national goal of having 30% of newly-licensed engineers be women by 2030.  

We’re working to facilitate more representation of women in engineering within the “30 by 30” framework, making major efforts to assess the current curriculum and implement changes to make it more inclusive.

Curriculum development

We will further develop inclusive curriculums and programs that reflect the diversity of our student body. Current examples of this include focusing on accessibility in our second-year Introduction to Product Development course, introducing an intersectionality design framework to some of our undergraduate and graduate students, and choosing design projects that celebrate the diversity of our students.  

Related links

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Contact us

Ghasan Doudak

Vice-Dean, EDI and Governance and Professor
Email: [email protected]

Indigenous Affirmation

We pay respect to the Algonquin people, who are the traditional guardians of this land. We acknowledge their longstanding relationship with this territory, which remains unceded. 

We pay respect to all Indigenous people in this region, from all nations across Canada, who call Ottawa home. 

We acknowledge the traditional knowledge keepers, both young and old. And we honour their courageous leaders: past, present, and future. 

Learn more about the Indigenous Affirmation.