Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting me to talk about the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's role in addressing the shared challenges that impact engineering in Canada.
NSERC is the national funding agency responsible for advancing post-secondary research and training in the sciences and engineering. Our investments in people, discovery, and innovation have had, and continue to have, a profound impact on Canada's ability to remain competitive in today's global engineering environment.
With an investment of $1 billion, NSERC gives 41,000 fellows and seasoned researchers at universities and colleges across the country the opportunity to pursue the promising ideas and innovations that will give Canada a competitive edge in the 21st century.
That support includes major investments in a number of engineering fields, including the telecommunications, aerospace, automobile, construction and mining sectors.
In 2011-12, NSERC's investment in these engineering-intensive sectors was more than $320 million, approximately one-third of our total budget. This investment enabled 13,000 students and experienced researchers at universities and colleges across the country to pursue ideas and innovations.
We see solving practical problems as an integral part of engineering. NSERC is a leader in providing opportunities for industry to access the wealth of engineering knowledge and skills available in our post-secondary institutions. This access increases our productivity and the global competitiveness of our industries.
These relationships, however, also benefit our researchers, who are inspired to work on new industry-relevant research, and our students, who gain valuable industry-relevant experience and training. In fact, 55% of all NSERC investments in industry partnerships are in engineering-related fields. For example, Alberta's leading university experts in oil sands maintain very active partnerships with this crucial industry sector through NSERC support.
We leverage the unique strengths, insights, and capabilities in both academia and industry, and these collaborations involve more than 30 companies in the oil sands area and cover virtually every facet of the industry's development, from mining through to their land reclamation. They've contributed new technologies that make the industry's processes more efficient and cost effective and reduce the environmental footprint. Perhaps more importantly, they've contributed many of the engineers employed today by these companies.
Going forward, we need to really ensure that we have a sufficient pipeline of talent—I think you've heard this as a uniform message here—and that this talent has the right skills. We've heard clearly that attracting more women to engineering continues to be a challenge. The share of female enrolment in engineering in Canada has held steady over the past 10 years; however, we are very far from parity. Through policies and programs, NSERC is looking for novel ways to increase the participation of women in engineering. One example is our women in science and engineering chairs program, which provides a mentorship component.
As we've heard, Canada relies heavily on international students. In fact, these students account for 40% of university enrolment in engineering in Canada at the graduate level. We firmly believe that this is a feather in the cap of our excellent Canadian engineering schools; however, we can't rest on our laurels. We must continue to be competitive to attract and retain top engineering talent from all over the world. This is a growing challenge.
Jayson Myers, the president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, noted very recently that in today's global markets Canadian product manufacturers can't compete on existing technology alone, so design has become the ultimate means of differentiation. Since 1999, NSERC has worked with the engineering community to strengthen training in design in our engineering schools through a series of chairs in design engineering. This is an ongoing and shared challenge with stakeholders such as the universities, and it is a nut that's not yet cracked.
Building our human capital in science and engineering through advanced training is an integral part of all NSERC programs. In 2011-2012 we worked with over 2,400 different industry partners. These partners have helped to provide students with valuable work experience and professional skills. In many instances, they hire these students after they graduate, contributing to our retention.
In conclusion, I want to reiterate that NSERC plays a vital role in ensuring that engineering in Canada remains globally competitive through our investments in people, discovery, and innovation, and by connecting this capacity to the needs of our industry.
Thank you.