Last Friday, CENGN had the privilege of taking part in the IEEE EPEC Horizons EPEC panel in Ottawa. CENGN’s President and CEO, Ritch Dusome spoke on a diverse panel about the components of innovation, diversity, and sustainability in regards to career preparation for young engineers, and the creation of a healthy and successful work environment.

For those of you who missed it, the IEEE EPEC Conference allows students and recent graduates the opportunity to learn about the skills and mindset required to have a successful career in the tech industry. IEEE gives more to its attendees than presentations, educational tools, and lively panel discussion. It also is an amazing opportunity for the students to network with potential employers.

During the Horizons@EPEC panel, Ritch Dusome highlighted the benefits of having a diversity in your staff’s background and their way of thinking. He emphasized the need for companies to continue to be innovative in order to survive, but also for government and other organizations to foster and promote innovation in all industries. Ritch then went on to discuss how this is especially the case for networks and smart infrastructure, drawing on his experience leading CENGN.

The panel was a great success with participation from other high tech leaders such as: Karen Bartletson– President of IEEE Worldwide, Chris Janzen– Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Trades at Algonquin College and the panel host Simon Herriotts– Senior Technical Leader at Cisco. Each participant brought their own flavor to the panel, speaking on behalf of their own experience and insights. This gave the discussion a variance in perspectives that were enjoyed by all in the room.

Overall, the IEEE EPEC Horizons@EPEC panel received a great response and was the perfect opportunity for CENGN to give its insights on what makes a good workplace. After the panel, CENGN was able to take advantage of the crowd by talking to motivated students and industry professionals about the careers it has to offer.

On behalf of CENGN, we’d like to thank IEEE to give CENGN’s perspective on innovation, diversity, and sustainability in the workplace. Can’t wait to see what future events IEEE has in store!

About the Author

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives technology innovation and industry growth through our testbed, technical expertise, talent development, and partner ecosystem. Through our projects, CENGN enables small and medium Canadian Enterprises to test and validate promising technologies, removing barriers to product commercialization and accelerating market growth.

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