Conference on Diversity in Engineering 2025
Hosted by McGill University
What is CDE?
The Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE) is a 3-day conference bringing together over 150 delegates from CFES member schools across the country, combining formative workshops, networking opportunities, social connections, and transformative conversations aimed at inspiring students to champion Equity, Diversity, Belonging, and Accessibility (EDBA) at their schools and equipping them with the tools to do so.
What is CFES?
The Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) is a bilingual student organization representing over 85,000 engineering students from 50 member schools across Canada. Our goal is to create opportunities for students to develop their leadership, communication, technical skills, and identity through conferences, workshops, competitions, and community building across regional barriers.
McGill University is proud to host CDE 2025, an event dedicated to fostering the growth and success of our students, by furthering the engineering profession as a whole. As an English institution in a French-speaking province, McGill creates the perfect environment for a bilingual conference experience. Our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is deeply embedded across all programs, with initiatives such as E-IDEA and Empower.
Why McGill?
Our Theme : From Barriers to Breakthroughs
CDE 2025 is about more than just discussing challenges, it’s about inspiring and helping delegates to drive real change. Our theme, From Barriers to Breakthroughs, focuses on breaking systemic obstacles in engineering education and industry.
Through interactive workshops, panels, and case studies, delegates will not only learn about barriers in engineering, but will gain actionable insights from leaders in industry and academia.
Engineering for accessibility, with a focus on both visible and invisible disabilities, alongside increasing representation of marginalized groups in engineering spaces are just a few of the important topics this conference will be addressing.
With a strong focus on real-world applications, CDE 2025 will equip attendees with strategies to foster a more inclusive profession, ensuring that sponsors play a key role in shaping the next generation of diverse engineers.