Engineering Science Education Conference 2021
The Engineering Science Education Conference (ESEC) is an annual conference for Engineering Science students at the University of Toronto. The objective of ESEC is to broaden EngSci students' horizons in their potential fields of specialization. Since 2006, we have been inviting world leaders in each of our various majors to present lectures to our EngSci students, which explore research, education and career opportunities for bright upcoming engineers.
In accordance with associated public health guidelines, we have decided to move ESEC 2021 into a virtual environment. To learn more about the conference, schedule, and invited speakers, check out the following links!
Countdown to ESEC 2021
The Engineering Science Education Conference will officially start on Thursday, January 21stand will run until Saturday, January 23rd, 2021
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Past Student Experiences at ESEC
The best part about ESEC is seeing how leaders of industry and academia carved their own path. Naomi Ginsberg was myfavouritespeaker at ESEC2018 .Her journey fromEngScito grad school to teaching chemistry and doing research with improving image capture in microscope at UC Berkeley taught me to appreciate unexpected opportunities. Her story inspired me to be open to differentEngScimajors and I switched into a major I would have never considered in my first year.
Kimberley Lau
EngSci 2T0+1 Robotics
ESEC was an amazing opportunity to gain some insight into choosing a career path and I was particularly moved by KristenFacciol'stalk. Though I have zero interest in aerospace, it was empowering to hear her story and that it's okay to not know exactly what you want to do and just to be open to new and interesting experiences as they present themselves and that you'll find your way as you go. Still to this day, I wonder what I'm doing inEngSciand what I'm going to do after all this, but she's inspired me to continue being passionate about what I'm learning and to let that drive me and my career forward.
Julianne Attai
EngSci 2T3
In first year, I felt a lot of doubt and anxiety about what to major in and what opportunities were available for me afterEngSci. I didn't know how I would apply the things I learned in the real world. ESEC eased a lot of my fears and the speakers were very inspirational. KristenFacciol'stalk resonated withme in particular. She spoke about her personal experiences and challenges inEngSci and NASA. We were also provided a great opportunity to network and receive advice from leaders of their respective fields. I'm very grateful for the guidance I received at ESEC 2020.
Kapilan Bavananthan
EngSci 2T3
I really enjoyed attending and volunteering with ESEC in my first two years of university. I was also fortunate enough to be the director of ESEC in my third year, an experience which I greatly enjoyed. Even though I had no experience in the medical field, I was able to connect with Dr. Arthur Slutsky at ESEC 2019, who was the VP of Research at St. Michael's Hospital. We discussed machine learning applications in healthcare, and from this conversation, I ended up doing my PEY at St. Michael's Hospital. I got to work on a lot of interesting projects and had a fantastic experience!
Maitreyee Sidhaye
EngSci 2T0 + PEY Math, Stats, and Finance
I attended ESEC in my first year dead-set on choosing the Aerospace option, but after hearing several captivating talks, (which made me realize how little I truly knew about theEngScimajors), I discovered a new and unpredicted interest in the Robotics option. Through the mixer held after the event I was also able to personally talk to several of the speakers, in particular the Aerospace speaker, an incredibly accomplished alum, KristenFacciol, from whom I learned what aerospace truly looks like in industry. I am still in touch with her to this day and consider her a mentor on my new journey towards pursuing Robotics, all thanks to my attendance in ESEC 2020.
Rhythm Loomba
EngSci 2T3
The speakers at ESEC were extremely passionate and experienced in their fields which really inspired me. ESEC was also a great chance to see beyond the academia ofEngSciand everything it has to offer in my future career. It made me excited for the future but also gave me a glimpse into the possible majors I really am excited to pursue!
Anonymous
EngSci 2T3
ESEC is a great opportunity forEngScistudents (especially first and second years) to learn about cutting edge innovations in areas they are interested in, as well as gaining exposure to other fields they haven't considered. For instance, although I was less interested in Biomedical Engineering, I still learned a great deal about the application of Internet of Things in hospitals from the talk by Aviv Gladman, the ESEC 2020 speaker for Biomedical Systems.
Esther He
EngSci 2T2 Energy Systems
ESEC was an incredibly fun and meaningful experience! It was especially interesting to learn about the different engineering fields through leaders in academia and industry. One of myfavouritespeakers was Prof. Jessica Burgner-Kahrs, whose research on continuum robotspeakedmy interest and encouraged me topursue further studies in robotics, which is a field that I would not have necessarily considered otherwise.
Anonymous
EngSci 2T1 + PEY Aerospace
Pre-Conference Questions
A new feature for ESEC this year is a Slido for Pre-Conference Questions. Do you have any burning questions on your mind about a certain speaker? Would you be interested in certain topics being addressed or explained during their talk? Now is your chance!
Feel free to post any questions or comments to the speakers before ESEC begins by visiting the Slido link. Keep note that all questions will be moderated.
QR Code for Pre-Conference Questions
Register for the ESEC Prep Workshop
Thurs., Jan. 14 | 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm EST | Zoom (link will be emailed to you when you register)
This workshop, hosted by Troost ILead, will help first and second year students make the most out of their Engineering Science Education Conference (ESEC) experience.
You will learn strategies for networking in a professional setting (with speakers, faculty, and fellow classmates) and knowledge on how and what to prepare for the conference. These skills are more important now than ever in our current online-only circumstances.
Students will learn:
- Networking skills, approaches, & mindsets
- How to prepare for a networking situation
- The art of asking good professional questions
Visit our ESEC 2021 Social Pages
Engineering Science Education Conference 2021
Last updated on Jan 23 2021 by ESEC Web Team
