Quanser Global Sustainibility Award

Initiatives //Quanser Global Sustainibility Award​

Quanser Global Sustainibility Award

Quanser Global Sustainability Award 2025

The circular economy requires effective systems and solution frameworks to address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. The engineering community must transform its practices to improve every element of our global technological and economic systems.  

As engineering designers, we need to work together to answer the question: How can we design products that support the principles of sustainability, such as reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling?  

For more than three decades, Quanser has been supporting engineering education. We are proud to partner with the academic community to promote sustainability concepts in the field of engineering education.  

Dozens of students and professors from universities and colleges worldwide have participated in the Quanser Global Sustainability Award over the past few years, showcasing promising projects and impressive practical results in various fields.  

Together with the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) and the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), we look forward to continuing to support high-quality education with the Quanser Global Sustainability Awards! 

The Mission:  

The Quanser Global Sustainability Award encourages the development of initiatives that prepare students to discover and develop sustainable engineering methods throughout their careers. 

The Eligibility: 

Any initiative focused on developing undergraduate or master’s-level engineering skills to tackle one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).  

The initiative must be innovative and aligned with learning outcomes. It must also have a measurable impact on the student’s understanding of sustainability and the potential to be transferrable and scalable, ensuring that it can expand to enhance the learning of future generations. 

The Prize:  

  1. Quanser will supply the winner (or winning team representative) with one complimentary conference registration for the WEEF&GEDC 2025, held September 21-25, 2025, with a round-trip economy class airfare from the winner’s place of residence to Daegu, Republic of Korea, and three-night hotel accommodations.  
  2. Quanser will also supply a cash prize of $5,000 USD. 

Important Note:

Please kindly complete the Application Form  along with the required attachments and submit your work by June 27, 2025. 

Quanser Global Sustainability Award Application Form: 

Please review the entire application form beforehand and ensure you have all the necessary information.  

  • Please complete the Letter of Nomination, and attach the signed letter to the end of the application form. Both handwritten and digital signatures are acceptable.  
  •  This web-based application form consists of 2 sections:   
    • Section 1: Describe your project/initiative in 6000 characters (approximately 1000 words)
    • Section 2: Provide further details on how the project/initiative meets each criterion (maximum 800 characters each) 
  • We encourage you to use bullet points when responding in Section 2. 
  • You may also include a video of up to 2 minutes as a supplementary document for your application. It can contain additional information or evidence that you would like to present. You can attach the video at the end (maximum size 50MB) or share the YouTube link in the project description.
  • Please review and check all the boxes at the bottom of the application form to ensure your submission is valid and meets all requirements. 
  • A compelling nomination will clearly demonstrate how the project meets the evaluation criteria.  We encourage the inclusion of qualitative and quantitative evidence in the form of examples and data to illustrate the project’s effectiveness.

Thank you to our 2025 Committee Members

Quanser is delighted to announce that the 2025 Quanser Global Sustainability Award, presented in partnership with the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), has been awarded to Dr. Marjan Eggermont.

The award ceremony took place on September 24th, 2025, in Daegu, South Korea, during the WEEF &GEDC 2025.

2025 Quanser Global Sustainibility Award Recipient

2025
Marjan Eggermont

Quanser, in collaboration with IFEES and GEDC, is thrilled to announce the recipient of the prestigious Quanser Global Sustainability Award 2025. This annual accolade celebrates exceptional academics and researchers dedicated to pioneering sustainable engineering practices.

Dr. Marjan Eggermont, BA, BFA, MFA, PhD, is a Professor (Teaching) and, until recently, Associate Dean of Sustainability in the Schulich School of Engineering (SSE). In addition, she held the roles of co-director for the UNU Hub at UCalgary, SDSN Canada co-chair (research), and academic co-leads for Democracy, Justice, and Sustainability in the Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship. 

She is a Biomimicry Institute Fellow and has been working in the field of bio-inspired design since 2004 with a focus on visualization and abstraction. She co-founded and designs Zygote Quarterly (zqjournal.org), an online bio-inspired design journal to showcase the nexus of science and design. She served on the board of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) from 2014-2017 and was inducted into the 2023 ASEE Hall of Fame. She recently received the 2025 Top 25 Women of Influence+ Canada Award.

Award-Winning Project:

Title:  Sustainable Systems Engineering (SUSE) undergraduate program

Dr. Eggermont was recognized for her leadership in the development of the ‘Sustainable Systems Engineering (SUSE) undergraduate program’ at the University of Calgary. This innovative program represents a reimagining of engineering education for the 21st century, embedding sustainability, systems thinking, and ecological responsibility at the core of engineering curricula.

Through SUSE, Dr. Eggermont has created a platform that equips future engineers with the tools and mindset to tackle complex global challenges — from climate change to resource management — with creativity, responsibility, and purpose.

Why This Matters

By pioneering this transformative approach, Dr. Eggermont exemplifies the mission of the Quanser Global Sustainability Award: empowering engineers and educators to build a more sustainable and resilient future.

Dr. Eggermont’s work is a shining example of how engineering education can be reshaped to meet the challenges of our time. At Quanser, we believe that sustainability must be at the heart of innovation, and the SUSE program demonstrates exactly how this vision can be realized. We are proud to recognize her achievements and to support global initiatives that inspire the next generation of engineers to create meaningful change.

— Paul Gilbert, CEO, Quanser

We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Eggermont on this well-deserved recognition!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh-pTwzllvI&t=2s

Recognition Ceremony:

Dr. Eggermont was formally recognized during the GEDC & WEEF 2025 Awards Ceremony on Sept 21-25 in Daegu, South Korea. We extend our heartfelt congratulations on her remarkable achievement and look forward to her continued contributions to global sustainability.

About Quanser Global Sustainability Award

The Quanser Global Sustainability Award seeks to encourage innovative initiatives in engineering education that equip students with the tools to explore and advance sustainable engineering methods.

Eligible projects focus on undergraduate or master’s-level education and demonstrate:

  • Innovation: A creative approach to sustainability challenges. Alignment: Clear connection to measurable learning outcomes.
  • Scalability: Potential to expand and impact future generations.
  • Impact: Evident enhancement of students’ understanding of sustainability principles.

Individual and team nominations are welcomed, promoting diverse approaches to achieving a sustainable future. To address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution, the circular economy requires effective systems and solution frameworks. To improve every element of our global technological and economic systems, the engineering community must transform our practices.

As engineering designers, we need to work together to answer the question: how can we design products that support the principles of sustainability, such as re-use, repair, re-manufacture, and recycling?

For more than three decades, Quanser has been supporting engineering education. We are proud to partner with the academic community to promote sustainability concepts in the field of engineering education. Dozens of students and professors from universities and colleges around the world have participated in the Quanser Global Sustainability Award over the past few years, showcasing promising projects and impressive practical results in a variety of fields.

Together with the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), and the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), we look forward to continuing to support high-quality education with the Quanser Global Sustainability Awards 2024! THE MISSION: The Quanser Global Sustainability Award encourages the development of initiatives that prepare students to discover and develop sustainable engineering methods throughout their careers.

THE ELIGIBILITY: Any initiative focused on developing undergraduate or master’s-level engineering skills to tackle one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The initiative must be innovative and include a demonstrable alignment to learning outcomes. In addition, the initiative must have a measurable impact on the student’s understanding of sustainability and have the potential to be transferrable and scalable, to ensure that it can expand to enhance the learning of future generations. For more information please check the website: https://www.quanser.com/community/sustainability-award/

Past recipients

Samyuktha Penta
2024
Nathalie Lavoine​
2022
Johann Eduard van der Merwe​
2023
Calayde Davey
2023

We are honored to announce that our Rising to the Top book series has added TWO new volumes!

Rising to the Top provides an intimate and inspiring look into the experiences that have shaped the lives and careers of women engineering leaders from around the world. By openly sharing their personal journeys in these pages, the authors hope to not only inspire the next generation of engineering leaders, but also provide valuable insight into the challenges facing women engineers around the world, and the opportunities that are theirs for the taking.