Celebrating 100 years of the Iron Ring

Since 1925, Canadian engineering graduates have participated in the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer—a solemn tradition where they pledge professional responsibility and receive the Iron Ring.

Administered by The Corporation of the Seven Wardens through regional Camps, including Waterloo’s Camp 15, this ceremony symbolizes an engineer’s ethical commitment to integrity, competence, and humility, as well as their responsibility to innovation, public safety, and societal well-being.

A century later, we celebrate 100 years of this uniquely Canadian tradition. The Faculty of Engineering will mark this milestone throughout 2025 with a series of events and initiatives. We invite our alumni to join us in honouring the legacy of the Iron Ring and the remarkable contributions of engineers locally, nationally, and globally.

Dr. Nadine Ibrahim and students pose with Iron Rings — Photo by Casey Wagter

Waterloo Engineering’s Dean Mary Wells joined a panel of engineering leaders to kick off National Engineering Month with a discussion celebrating the centennial of the Iron Ring tradition and the unveiling of a newly modernized Calling of an Engineer ceremony.

Hosted by Engineers Canada, yesterday's virtual event honoured the legacy of the Iron Ring’s obligation ceremony and explored recent updates made by the Corporation of the Seven Wardens to reflect a more inclusive and forward-thinking profession.

A Waterloo Engineering professor bestowed the Iron Ring on her students at this year's Iron Ring ceremony on campus. Now in its 100th year, the ceremony is an important rite of passage for Canada's professional engineers, reminding them to work with integrity.

Dr. Nadine Ibrahim from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering shares why the Iron Ring tradition holds enduring relevance for future engineers and the societies they work in.

The Iron Ring ceremony is an important rite of passage for Canada’s engineers, unifying them in a professional mission to do good work that serves society.

This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the Iron Ring. The Poet Laureate of Dublin, California and Waterloo Engineering alum James Morehead (BASc ’90, computer engineering), recognizes the enduring relevance of the Iron Ring and what wearing it means to him as an engineer.

Read more

Dean Wells celebrates the Iron Ring centennial

Prof and students wear the Iron Ring with pride

Alum’s poem celebrates the Iron Ring tradition

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