Anika Shenoy
Cannon Writer
This year, the External Relations Directorship is back at U of T! While External Relations plays a key role in how U of T interacts with the Ontario engineering community, you may not know who we are and what we do. Read on and you’ll find out!
What do we do?
The External Relations Directorship is your liaison between the Skule TM community and organizations
such as the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) and the Engineering Student Societies’
Council of Ontario (ESSCO). We attend meetings, seminars and conferences hosted by these organizations with the purpose of advocating for the needs of engineering students. We are overseen by the office of the Engineering Society President, and we report to him monthly.
What’s new this year?
In the past ten years, UofT’s involvement with external organizations has been low. Moreover, a few years ago, the VP External role was removed from the Council due to our low involvement in interschool affairs at the time.
The tide has since turned, and we are now pursuing a more involved role in interschool matters. External Relations has been reinstated in EngSoc as the External Relations Directorship. Now, with committed directorship and as part of a very influential (and big!) engineering school, we are well positioned to make an impact within the Canadian student community.
Who is new this year?
Your External Relations Director this year is Katie Vranesic, and she is the main point of contact between external organizations and the EngSoc Council. Katie comes with a vast amount of interschoolexperience. She began in 2018 by winning The Cup, an interschool social competition between UofT, McMaster and Waterloo. Since then, she has helped organize interschool SUDS in 2019 and 2020, and she has been the External Director for the B&G committee since 2019. Katie and the rest of the External Relations team are eager to increase UofT’s involvement among fellow Canadian engineering universities.
What are CFES and ESSCO?
CFES and ESSCO are external organizations that host opportunities for interschool networking and advocacy. CFES, or the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students, offers leadership and networking conferences as well as engineering competitions. Find out more about CFES at www.cfes.ca!
ESSCO, or the Engineering Student Societies’ Council of Ontario, is a key organization for advocacy for engineering students. Their objectives include mental wellness, sustainability, co-op, inclusivity, and many more. ESSCO also hosts the interschool Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC). Find out more about ESSCO at www.essco.ca!
What are some upcoming ways to get involved?
There are several ways to get involved with the External Relations Directorship or with the organizations we liaise with. The team is always open to anyone who would like to help the social media team or the web team. We also send delegates to CFES and ESSCO conferences. This year, UofT is also competing in the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) hosted by ESSCO, so stay tuned if you are interested in some friendly interschool competition! You can also follow us on Instagram (@skule.external) or email Katie Vranesic at external@g.skule.ca.