A Constant In Our Lives
Stress is defined as force over area. Currently, with everything that is going around us, forces tend to increase at a constant rate and area for us to process is decreasing. Thus, when such stress is being forced on our body not only from personal perspective but also standing up for oneself in a gender imbalanced career path such has Engineering, one can easily be vacuumed into the spiral of thoughts which can be hard to come out of.
This Engineering Management Institute article states that once the stress strikes, one needs to stop what they are doing, step back, breathe and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get your mind off of the problem like meditation or a walk, that will give one a fresh perspective on things. This brings in the topic of the techniques of having work-life balance, which we will get to know through Ania Ulrich.
Reducing Stress in Our Engineering Careers
Ania Ulrich is a meditation teacher and trains meditators at workshops across Alberta, therefore she will talk on the science of stress and how practices like meditation, breathing, and exercise, roll back the effects of stress in our engineering careers. In addition, a major focus of Ulrich’s duties as Assistant Dean of Outreach is to ensure people are empowered to reach their full potential. Issues such as work-life balance and parental leave have enormous impacts on our lives, she said, and it’s important that people can lead full, well-rounded lives. “Is work-life balance achievable? What supports are needed to bring out the best in our people so they can get what they want out of their careers?”. By identifying concerns and addressing those issues, we can do more to help people succeed.
Ania Ulrich’s Biography
Ania Ulrich is the first-ever Associate Dean of Outreach, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Alberta. She earned her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Alberta in 1999, earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the University of Toronto in 2004, and has been a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Alberta since 2008. As part of Edmonton’s celebration of International Women’s Day, Ulrich received the 2019 Women’s Initiative Leadership Award presented by Women’s Initiative Edmonton. This award recognizes individuals who “exemplified the qualities of service, vision, and commitment to improving the realities of many”, which describes Dr. Ania Ulrich perfectly.
Event Details
Join us at the third Women in Engineering Summit and the first virtual one on October 23rd. A Keynote by Aerospace Engineer Natalie Panek opens the day to a line-up of speakers and panelists addressing: unconscious bias, coping with stress, inclusivity, dream jobs, and the importance of tipping the scale to 30% of Women in the profession. Sessions will be interactive, and there will be 2 networking opportunities throughout the day.