INNOVATION November-December 2013

a nnua l con ference 2013 Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting

Making Connections—Sea to Sky Laurel Buss

This year’s conference theme, “Making Connections—Sea to Sky”, speaks to the importance that the professions of engineering and geoscience have in shaping our future, both here in BC and internationally. The Whistler Conference Centre in beautiful Whistler, BC, hosted 768 delegates for APEGBC’s 2013 Annual Conference, which included two days of professional development and networking activities, followed by the association’s 94 th Annual General Meeting. A dedicated team of volunteers coordinated 10 professional development streams, which focused on topics that addressed many significant issues facing the engineering and geoscience professions. This year’s streams included: Better Business (Ashok Abhyankar, P.Eng.); Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Dr. Mehrzad Tabatabaian, P.Eng.); Engineering and Geoscience in the Resource Sector (Jonathan Kroon, P.Geo., and Jennifer Clarke, P.Geo.); Environmental Engineering and Geoscience (Elizabeth MacLanders, P.Eng.); Geotechnical (Antigone Dixon- Warren, P.Geo.); Management (Mamoud Bashi, P.Eng.); Municipal Engineering (Bill Berry, P.Eng., and Neal Carley, P.Eng.); Structural (Farshid Borjian, P.Eng., Struct.Eng.); Young Professional (Kevin Hsiao, EIT); and APEGBC (Mustapha Zergoun, P.Eng., and Piotr

Mazur, P.Eng.). Professional development sessions were once again recorded this year and will be made available to members for purchase as part of the APEGBC Online Learning Centre: www. apeg.bc.ca/online-learning. A full tradeshow hall featured 38 unique exhibitors and was the backdrop for a bustling exhibitor wine and beer reception on Thursday evening for conference delegates. In addition to the professional development sessions, APEGBC business was the underlying focus of the conference, which also hosted meetings of the branch representatives, the Student Advisory Committee, DEGIRS, and a Past President’s forum. Thursday and Friday’s keynote programs were well-attended and provided delegates with inspiration and insight. The Honourable AndrewWilkinson, Minister of Technology, Innovation, and Citizens’ Services, provided an engaging address at the Thursday breakfast, sharing his thoughts about BC as a leader in technology and innovation and how APEGBC members are critical to this important sector of the province’s economy. On Friday morning, Daniel Lebel, Eng., FEC, President of the Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec (OIQ), spoke about the lessons learned from the Quebec Commission of Inquiry.

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