I am extremely pleased to chair this international get-together dealing with future graduates in research and engineering in the field of electricity.

At École Polytechnique de Montréal, just like at other universities in Canada and abroad, the training of engineers and highly qualified specialists is among our primary concerns. Our main objective is to offer the best possible training so that our future graduates can contribute to the industry’s growth, in various areas of activity, as well as to society’s development. This has become a major challenge, now more than ever.

What are the industry’s needs? How can universities, industry and government work together to train highly qualified future graduates? How can we develop a curriculum that meets industry needs and is in line with changes in trade practices? These are the issues that will be the subject of the talks presented today by about a dozen conference speakers from Japan, Korea, France, Mexico, the United States and Canada.

This IERE Workshop is an excellent opportunity to pool our knowledge and experience to reflect on how we can prepare a highly competent succession in electrical engineering that will be able to meet the challenges presented by the industry.

I wish you an excellent day along with productive and pleasant discussions.

Robert L. Papineau

Director General of École Polytechnique de Montréal and Chair of the IERE Workshop, The Next Generation of Power Engineers and Researchers