Mr. Randy Herrmann, Director, Engineering Access Program, University of Manitoba

Bio:  Randy is the Director of the Engineering Access Program (ENGAP) at the University of Manitoba.  ENGAP is a support program designed to assist First Nation, Metis and Inuit students seeking an engineering degree. He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geological Engineering. For ten years he worked as a geotechnical engineer and a project manager before taking on his current role. Over the years Randy’s work with Canadian Indigenous communities and within the engineering field has shown him the lack of engineers of First Nation, Metis, and Inuit ancestry and the obstacles faced by these students to obtain a degree.  His desire to help change these factors and make it easier for Indigenous students to pursue an engineering degree led him to become Director of ENGAP, a position he has held since 1998. He is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, and a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is also a member of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.  

Dr. Jillian Seniuk Cicek, Assistant Professor, Price Faculty of Engineering, University of Manitoba

Bio:  Dr. Jillian Seniuk Cicek is a settler and Assistant Professor in the Centre for Engineering Professional Practice and Engineering Education in the Price Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba, located on the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Ojibwe-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. Her research in engineering education explores the integration of Indigenous knowledges and worldviews with engineering curricula and the impact on student learning; sociotechnical thinking; pedagogical practices; student engineering identity and competency development; and the development of engineering education research in Canada. She is motivated by the translation of research into practice to improve engineering curricula and advance engineering education research as a field. She teaches technical communication, decolonized engineering, career design, and engineering education and research courses. She has three wonderful adult kids, three fur babies, and one amazing husband. When she’s not working, she plays ringette with a group of neighbourhood moms on a team called, The Awesomes!

Ms. Ella Morris, Instructor, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba

Bio: Ella Morris is an Instructor and Métis Indigenous scholar in the Department of Biosystems Engineering (Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences) at the University of Manitoba. She holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (University of Manitoba, 2017) and a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (University of Manitoba, 2020). Ella is working toward a Ph.D. studying bluff bodies in the Turbulence and Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Mark Tachie. She teaches fluid mechanics, engineering design, decolonizing engineering, and thesis. She is a lifelong learner who enjoys teaching and helping students succeed. Ella enjoys the challenge of finding ways to take complex ideas and turn them into simple concepts. Ella has a wonderful husband and four kids aged 3 to 14 years. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time outdoors in the garden.