Registration is now open for a major gathering of deans of engineering from around the globe that is coming to Albuquerque later this year.

The University of New Mexico is the host to the joint annual summit of the World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) and the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC). WEEF-GEDC 2018 will be held Nov 12-16. This is the first time the event will be held in the United States.

The theme of the week will be “Peace Engineering,” which will focus on science- and engineering-based solutions to the world’s grand challenges. These include climate change, water, health care, food security, social equity and diversity.

The conference is expected to attract between 1,000 and 1,500 people from all over the world, said Ramiro Jordan, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNM and president-elect of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), which holds the conference.

Although the primary gathering is for deans of engineering, Jordan said the conference will be of interest to those from a wide variety of disciplines, including engineers, students, university leaders, multilateral organizations, foundations, venture capitalists and more.

Most of the event will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center, but there will be opportunities for the participants of the conference to visit UNM and its various research facilities in the School of Engineering and elsewhere on and near campus.

Early-bird registration is open through Aug. 15, and regular registration will be from Aug. 16-Oct. 11. Full conference and one-day registrations are available.

For additional fees, there are also opportunities to sign up for lab tours of Sandia National Laboratories and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), as well as to participate in an ABET workshop. Lab tour registrations are limited, so those interested are encouraged to sign up early.

This event will also feature a career fair and industrial partnership event on Nov. 16, which will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students looking for networking and career opportunities, Jordan said.

The UNM School of Engineering, in conjunction with the Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortium and the Global Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship and Technology, are hosts of the WEEF-GEDC-2018 event. 

Strategic partners include AFRL, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

Click here to register. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.