School of Sustainable Energy Engineering

Our mission is to inspire and foster transformative innovations in energy systems that benefit society and the natural environment through outstanding interdisciplinary education, research, collaboration, and engagement amongst a diverse and equitable community.

The School of Sustainable Energy Engineering embraces sustainability in its broadest sense as our overarching guiding principle. We endeavour to model best practices and leadership in the pursuit of ecological, social and economic sustainability, as well as gender equity and reduced inequalities in our operations, research, teaching and community engagement. Our definition of sustainable development is aligned with Our Common Future also known as the Brundtland Report: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This statement of principles and commitments is a living document to guide our educational and operational activities semester by semester, responding to the evolving local, national and international landscapes, while enhancing the resilience of the planet.

The School commits to work collaboratively with others within and outside of SFU to operationalize these principles, including the SFU Sustainability Office, and the SFU Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Externally, the School will work with communities and governments to engage in sustainability endeavours. In addition, the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scaffold our core work in sustainable energy (SDG #7 Affordable and Clean Energy) while we recognize the interdependence, synergies and trade-offs with the other 16 SDGs.

The school is committed to work towards the following priorities:

1. Minimize our environmental footprint, including net CO₂ emissions and consumption of materials and goods both individually and as an organization in our operational systems and processes, our teaching and our research.
2. Use and champion best practices in equity, diversity and inclusion for recruitment and retention of employees and students, using guidance from the SFU Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
3. Foster classroom environments that are safe, welcoming and inclusive to support student well-being, with special awareness of underrepresented groups such as women in engineering and indigenous students in higher education.
4. Use pedagogies consistent with education for sustainable development such as community-engaged research, interdisciplinarity, experiential learning, and campus as a living lab, encouraging students to take ownership and take on leadership of energy debates, decisions, analyses and designs.
5. Engage with internal and external partners to foster evidence-based discussion and knowledge transfer with respect to energy sustainability concepts and issues, and provide leadership in sustainability literacy and social/environmental justice.
6. Focus our research activities to those areas which have the most potential benefit for the environment and society. Undertake research that aims to improve the sustainability of local, regional and global energy systems while building a collaborative, diverse and inclusive research community.
7. Transparently measure, document and report periodically our progress towards these commitments, and continuously reflect upon and improve our work.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first five months as director pro tem; being a part of the School of Sustainable Energy Engineering's (SEE) transformative journey has been exhilarating. There has been tremendous growth at SEE in terms of our student body, research outputs and overall reputation. Navigating through this growth requires systems thinking and collaborative strategies. It has been immensely rewarding for me to better understand the passion of the SEE community.

SEE had nothing short of a paramount year in 2023. The program received formal accreditation by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, ensuring that students are on track to receiving their professional engineer (P.Eng.) license. Along with reaching this significant milestone, we have taken many steps to support the school’s growth and are currently in the process of recruiting three new tenure-track faculty positions in power electronics, energy storage and sustainable buildings. We are also developing a new, course-based master’s of engineering (M.Eng.) program, aiming for a Fall 2025 start.

In 2023, SEE was also able to accomplish many firsts, including hosting a public dialogue event for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Our students also received recognition for their capstone projects, with teams being awarded the EGBC’s Think Green Student Award and the CAGBC’s Andy Kesteloo Award.

We are now prioritizing the creation of new initiatives for students that focuses on providing an environment for social interactions while learning and developing professional networks. We will be hosting our first graduate research conference in May, the “SEE CAR”, automotive design competition later in the year, and have plans to host an international conference in 2025 that aims to enrich our academic and research environment. Throughout the year, we will also be working to build our industrial networks by identifying new avenues for partnerships and continuing to work with our current partners on cutting-edge research, co-operative education experiences and capstone projects.

The primary focus of SEE is on enhancing student experience, strengthening our undergraduate program and creating a more welcoming space for students in our state-of-the-art building. We aim to take on a leadership role in defining the nascent sustainable energy engineering domain. In doing so, we anticipate the program will help identify the competencies needed to be a successful sustainable energy engineer. In practice, our students are equipped with the knowledge to make a positive change in society and help tackle global challenges.

Zafar Adeel, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Director pro tem and Professor of Professional Practice
School of Sustainable Energy Engineering