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BY NANCY TOTH, M.A.
Manager, Professional Development
Check off April 22 and 23 for the professional development
sessions at the 2004 APEGGA Annual Conference in Edmonton.
With six different two-day streams available, there’s
going to be something for everyone.
You will be able to register in a full two-day stream of
your choice or register in separate half-day sessions to
customize the range of your learning. This year speakers
from both industry and government will provide broad perspectives
on several technical issues.
The two-day stream Climate Change and Opportunities covers
various aspects of this important and topical issue. Presenters
will address the scientific definition of climate change,
and policies and plans put in place by government.
Vulnerabilities, opportunities and challenges facing the
engineering and geoscience communities will be reviewed.
There will also be discussion of opportunities with large-
and small-scale technologies in regard to greenhouse gases.
The stream Technical Perspectives addresses several developing
technologies in Alberta. Provincial experts will present
The Exploration and Development of Bitumen; The Present and
Future of Geomatics in Alberta; Awareness and Opportunities
in Nanotechnology and Coalbed Methane and Water Resources.
We hope these sessions answer questions engineers, geologists,
geophysicists and other interested individuals may have.
Our two-day leadership stream is based on four powerful
presentations. A successful municipal manager will speak
about Strategic Planning and Changing Corporate Culture.
The leader of Alberta’s Quality Council will present
the National Quality Council’s Framework for Excellence
in Performance. The stream also features a session offering
several models for effective decision-making.
Workplaces are enriched by professional, ethnic, racial
and other diversity. Many members are engaged in work with
other countries. The session Embracing Diversity will provide
tips on how to maximize these opportunities.
Have you ever wanted to discover or develop your creativity
to enhance your design ability? Could there be a creative
new technique for making meetings more productive? Have you
wondered about shortcuts to get through all your reading
effectively, prepare better position papers or capture the
key points in presentations or courses?
Then the presentations of Nancy Peterson could be for you.
She’s been trained in the methods of the by the leading
theorists of our time in the areas of learning and creativity – Edward
de Bono and Tony Buzan. Ms. Peterson will present for two
days on lateral thinking, mind-mapping, six thinking hats
and whole brain thinking. Based on experience with these
techniques, I can tell you that they are powerful and they
work.
Dr. George Jergeas, P.Eng., associate professor of project
management at the University of Calgary’s Department
of Civil Engineering, will give two full days on advanced
project management. Dr. Jergeas will provide a project
management framework and explain how to manage fast-tracked
projects. His session will also address building and sustaining
project teams and how to manage project risks.
There are many ways to maximize your quality of work life.
Our sixth two-day stream will examine several of these ways.
Knowing how to Manage Your Career in the Changing Workplace
is of increasing interest to our members. The matter of intellectual
property concerns more and more of us in today’s workplace
and Bill Page, P.Eng., will help us understand the related
legalities.
You will not want to miss the professional development choices
at this conference – watch for more details in the
February edition of The PEGG.
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