Engineering and Geoscience Education Foundation
The Engineering and Geoscience Education Foundation hosts a webpage at https://egef.ca/. The following is a status update as of July 29, 2025.
Background
In 2002, when the Association was seeking a way to support the construction of the new Engineering and Information Technology Complex (EITC) at the University of Manitoba, they found that under the Act, there was very little the Association was permitted to do in terms of direct financial assistance. The Association therefore determined to work with a number of members in establishing a charitable foundation, and in 2003 the APEGM Foundation Inc. was created and registered as a charity in 2004.
First Investment - Engineering and Information Technology Complex
Following a change to the Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act in 2004 the Association was able to contribute funds to the new Engineering and Information Technology Complex (EITC), then under construction at the University of Manitoba, through the APEGM Foundation. A total of $350,000 was contributed to the building fund, and as a result the naming rights for the new room 229 were given in recognition. [|Read more]
Since the original support of the EITC, the Foundation has supported a variety of projects, including several that leveraged funding from other sources.
Publications Support
The past presidents of the Association, since 2006, contributed through the Foundation about $12,000 of publications to the Donald W. Craik Engineering Library, now moved to the Jim Peebles Science and Technology Library.
Geoscience Projects
In 2007, the Foundation contributed $15,000 to the replacement of two 40-year-old trailers with a new building at the Star Lake Field Station, operated by the University of Manitoba’s Department of Geological Sciences. In 2008, the Foundation’s contribution of $15,000 leveraged matching funds from the Province towards the APEGM Geoscience Gallery in the Department of Geology at Brandon University. A 2010 contribution of $7,500 supported the “History Wall” in the Wallace Building, University of Manitoba’s Department of Geological Sciences.
Partnership with Winnipeg Foundation - The Engineers and Geoscientists Education Foundation Inc. Fund
In 2013, the Foundation established an endowment fund with The Winnipeg Foundation. The Engineers and Geoscientists Education Foundation Inc. Fund has grown to over $200,000.
Dr. Ganpat S. Lodha Bursaries Fund
The Foundation’s contribution of $100,000, matched by the Province, established the APEGM Foundation Inc. (AFI) Bursaries for IEEQ Students endowment fund in 2014 at the University of Manitoba to assist students in the Internationally Educated Engineers Qualification (IEEQ) program. In 2022, the Foundation requested the name be changed to the Dr. Ganpat S. Lodha Bursaries Fund, in honour of the fund’s founder, with an expanded mandate to include permanent residents and refugee/protected status, there being a reduction in the IEEQ enrolment related to increased options for registration with the Association.
Stanley Pauley Centre
The Foundation matched donations to the Stanley Pauley Centre up to $100 per donor, contributing $7,650 in 2019.
Engineering and Geoscience Education Foundation name change
The Foundation’s name was changed to Engineering and Geoscience Education Foundation (EGEF) in 2022, to better reflect the work it does.
Doug Ruth Student Lounge
To honour Dr. Doug Ruth, former Dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering, EGEF contributed $50,000 to the Faculty’s Strategic Initiative Fund in 2022, with naming rights to the student lounge. The Doug Ruth Student Lounge holds a plaque commemorating the former dean. The Foundation’s donation was used in combination with other donor gifts to renovate the engineering library into an up-to-date learning space.
Removing Barriers for Tomorrow's Engineers and Geoscientists
In 2023, a second endowment fund was created with The Winnipeg Foundation to manage a new initiative created in 2022—Removing Barriers for Tomorrow’s Engineers and Geoscientists. This is the third endowment fund that the Foundation established.
Smaller Projects
The smaller projects that the Foundation has supported include the engineering centennial book Grinding “Geers” for 100 years, the University of Manitoba Engineering Students’ history project, and the purchase of student laptops during the pandemic.
Compiled by
- Alan Pollard, PEng, FEC
- Nirdosh Ganske, PEng (SM)
Posted by
Glen N. Cook, PEng, (SM), FEC If you have feedback on this article please contact the webmaster at APEGM.heritageeng@gmail.com.
