National activities

The Wighton Fellowship

The Wighton Fellowship is a national award to recognize excellence in the development and teaching of laboratory-based courses in Canadian undergraduate engineering programs. The Award is funded by a generous endowment from the late Dr. J. L. Wighton, formerly a professor of Engineering, whose commitment to the laboratory component of engineering curricula led to the formation of the Fellowship in 1986 in cooperation with the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science (NCDEAS) and the Sandford Fleming Foundation. The Fellowship has been awarded every year since its inception in 1987 at Universities across Canada.

The Wighton Fellowship is awarded annually and consists of a $3,000 stipend and a certificate. Nominations are reviewed by a selection committee composed of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Past-Chair of Engineering Deans Canada, and the Secretary of the Wighton Fellowship (from the Sandford Fleming Foundation).

Wighton Fellowship nomination guidelines and previous Fellows

Ontario Engineering Competition

Held at a different Engineering school each year, this competition has brought teams together from Ontario universities since 1979 to compete for awards in design and public speaking categories. The Sandford Fleming Foundation is a joint Major Patron of Operating Engineers College (OEC) with the Consulting Engineers of Ontario.

Canadian Engineering Competition

The Canadian Engineering Competition is held at a different Engineering school in Canada each year. The Sandford Fleming Foundation is a sponsor of CEC, and administers the Petri Design Award (see below), the most prestigious award at CEC.

W. R. Petri Engineering Design Award

W. R. Petri served as an adjunct professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo from 1977 to 1994. He owned his own structural consulting practice and was responsible for many outstanding and innovative designs, particularly in the area of light weight structures and the use of aluminum. In his will, Dr. Petri left funds for the establishment of an engineering design competition "to encourage and reward young engineering designers and to draw the attention of industry to the engineering design talent in Canadian universities." The Sandford Fleming Foundation administers the award and has arranged for the Canadian Engineering Competition (see above) to include the $2,500 Petri Award as part of its annual competition.