15 Years of Leadership

Troost ILead Annual Review | 2024-25

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The Past, Present, and Future of Engineering Leadership

Director's Welcome

This summer marked the 15th anniversary of ILead. So much has changed in engineering leadership since 2010, and the field continues to evolve in new and exciting ways. Join us in reflecting on ILead’s past, how we’ve grown since then, and a look at what comes next.

15 years ago, the Troost ILead team set out on a mission to create a community that would support the development of leadership skills and prepare the next generation of engineers to help build a better world. The first initiative of its kind, ILead moved towards its vision by offering innovative student programming and pioneering engineering leadership research. Today, Troost ILead continues to innovate in how we accomplish this mission.

Our diverse selection of undergraduate and graduate-level courses has seen exceptional uptake, and our co-curricular offerings have expanded with several new programs developed within our broader community of the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP), our academic unit. We also continue to build relationships with our industry partners, providing opportunities for students to learn and be inspired from real-world experiences. Our research team has been exceptionally productive this year, winning new research funds and publishing 23 papers.

We are far from finished. The future of ILead holds so many exciting opportunities that we cannot wait to share with you. We look forward to another year of rich programming, growth, and innovation. Join us in reflecting on our past, and looking at what's to come for ILead.

- Emily Moore, Academic Director

Looking Back | Growth & Momentum

The journey of engineering leadership at U of T began with the Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) initiative in 2006, which laid the foundation for student-focused leadership education in the Department of Chemical Engineering. By 2010, LOT’s success inspired the launch of ILead as a faculty-wide program, expanding leadership learning across departments. ILead aimed to make leadership education a core part of the U of T Engineering experience, integrating industry insights, expanding course offerings, and establishing a research branch to inform both academic and co-curricular programming.

Establishing Engineering Leadership as a Discipline

In 2015, ILead’s research team published a seminal paper that helped legitimize engineering leadership as a recognized academic field. This milestone catalyzed further growth, including the creation of the Troost ILead Community of Practice (CoP), which fostered a reciprocal exchange between research, professional practice, and student programming. The following year, ILead launched NICKEL, a national network connecting engineering leadership educators across Canada. The pandemic in 2020 prompted a shift to online delivery, expanding ILead’s global reach through virtual CoP webinars.

Expanding Impact and Looking Ahead

From 2021 to 2023, ILead researchers conducted a national survey uncovering systemic inequities in engineering career paths, leading to new collaborations with industry and regulatory bodies. In 2024,we welcomed an international cohort of professional engineers for the inaugural Troost ILead Technical Leadership Development Program. Now in 2025, ILead stands as a leader in engineering leadership education, committed to equipping students with the skills to lead change and navigate complex professional landscapes. With 15 years of progress behind it, ILead is poised to continue shaping transformational leaders for the next decade.

2006 | Leaders of Tomorrow

2010 | ILead is Created

2015 | Community of Practice & NICKEL Established

2020 | Community of Practice Expands Internationally

2021-23 | Engineering Career Paths National Survey

2024 | Inaugural Troost ILead Technical Leadership Development Program

By the Numbers | Academics

From the period of May 2024 - April 2025

Distinct ILead Course Offerings

Students Registered in ILead Courses

By the Numbers | Industry & Alumni

From the period of May 2024 - April 2025

Industry Professionals Engaged

Alumni Engaged

Corporate Sponsorships

Participants in CoP Programming

Participants in Custom Industry Programming

The Past, Present, and Future of Engineering Leadership

Reflections from Professor Patricia Sheridan and Senior Research Associate, Andrea Chan, PhD

In 2010, engineering leadership research was in its infancy. The first question ILead had to tackle was a fundamental one. What is engineering leadership?

Associate Professor Patricia Sheridan has been with ILead since 2011 and has seen the field develop firsthand.

“There was a sense that things were happening in industry, and that we really needed to tap into that. But was this the same thing as business leadership, or is there something unique about how leadership happens in engineering?

Once we went out and did the research, it was a huge step because for the first time, we could say conclusively that, yes, there are different ways that engineers lead that are unique.”

Patricia Sheridan, Associate Director, Undergraduate

Andrea Chan, Senior Research Associate

In 2015, ILead published “Engineering leadership: Grounding leadership theory in engineers’ professional identities”, which is still regarded as a seminal piece of work that answered the question of engineering leadership’s existence conclusively, and kickstarted a broader interest in the field across much of North America.

Since then, the scope and breadth of research in engineering leadership has blossomed into a rich and diverse field of study. Many universities across North America now have their own engineering leadership institutions, contributing to the field together with us.

Some contemporary areas of research in the field include: Are the frameworks we use to understand engineering leadership different? What are the career paths of a leader-engineer? How do preconceptions of leadership from elsewhere in society influence how young engineers perceive themselves as leaders? How do we prepare young engineers to be leaders?

Andrea Chan, Senior Research Associate, PhD, is pursuing this work today.

“When I joined ILead in 2019, we were really focused on engineering leadership practice and career paths.

A lot of existing leadership literature didn’t fit what we were seeing in engineering. There are a myriad of different frameworks and models for understanding leadership, but these models had come out of business schools.

There was a need for a better understanding of leadership grounded in the day-to-day work of engineering. ILead offers a space for exploring leadership that resonates more with engineers.”

Chan expands on how ILead’s research is grounded in current day context.

“A lot of our current work looks at things like teamwork, engineering ethics, systems thinking, and sustainability. We can’t talk about leadership without addressing the people. That is, how is engineering leadership influenced by the sociopolitical context, and how do we navigate that?

Engineering leadership research is increasingly being shaped by global sociopolitical contexts. Because engineering work is deeply interpersonal and interdisciplinary, understanding these broader dynamics is essential to understanding how leadership in engineering actually happens and where it needs to happen."

Sheridan notes that student perceptions of leadership have also shifted since 2015.

“10 years ago there was a lot more resistance, and I think that a big part of the reason for this shift in perception is because ILead has been able to clearly make the link between leading and doing in our research. Engineers are interested in the doing part, but we’ve shown that there is no leading without doing.

A lot of other leadership research can be very abstract, and you can’t bring abstract into an engineering classroom. The fact that our research is based on industry practice helps students connect leadership with their engineering practice.

Students today are also substantially more open to the concept of leadership. The ones that come into my classroom today have an attitude of, ‘I need to learn this. This is important. This is necessary.’ They have multiple definitions of success, but they all are aware that they need leadership to achieve that.

In our engagements with industry and other academic institutions as well, we are seeing more interest and eagerness for engineering leadership training and education.

The premise of higher education is that we change the students, and the students go out and change the industry. We are now at the point in this field’s lifecycle where we are seeing the fruits of our labour.”

Sheridan believes that the progress in engineering leadership is part of a broader movement in Canada towards socio-technically minded professionals.

“Things are moving in Canada, and leadership is finding its way in many places where its not being called leadership. It’s showing up in truth and reconciliation work, in EDI work, and those value-based decisions around socio-technical thinking which is giving us amazing ways of connecting these different things back to engineering work."

For Chan, exploring how we can prepare engineers for success in this interdisciplinary reality is a central part of her current research.

“Different disciplines use different languages, which can create ambiguity. There are also power dynamic issues and professional humility, all of which informs our research to explore, ‘how do we get people to a point where they are ready to talk to each other and genuinely understand each other?

Putting people together in a room is not collaboration. To engage in true transdisciplinary collaboration, we need to equip engineers with the foundation that will help them understand the assumptions behind how the person they are collaborating with sees the world.

It is a learned skill to have proficiency in somebody else’s language and the way that they think. We’re interested in how engineers learn to speak these languages, understand their worldview, and value their information. So the question is, how do we do this in a way that is teachable? This, in my mind, is crucial to achieve true participatory design.”

Professor Sheridan conveys the evolving landscape of engineering leadership and highlights emerging areas of interest that will shape future conversations.

“There are interesting conversations happening around AI right now. How do we set up our teamwork processes given one of your members is an AI agent? How, as educators, do we train students on how to navigate this?”

Building on this, Sheridan emphasizes another critical area for development—how engineers engage with one another in increasingly diverse and complex environments.

“The other thing that I think will be really important is how to disagree and have conversations across difference in a way that's grounded in empathy and understanding.”

Carrying the momentum we have built over the last 15 years forward, ILead remains committed to continuing our legacy of deep exploration, innovation, and excellence in research.

By the Numbers | Research

From the period of May 2024 - April 2025

Research Publications, Conference Presentations & Journal Articles

Grants & Awards

Invited Research Talks

Research Papers & Conference Publications

Journal Articles & Handbook Chapters

Marjanska, E., Trzaskowska, A. M., Kendall, M., Rottmann, C. (in process-abstract accepted), Leadership as a catalyst for socio-technical integration and impact. SEFI Handbook on Engineering Skills – Volume A: Teaching Core Transferable Competencies & Skills in Engineering, Evidence-based Guide for Engineering Education Practitioners.
Moore, E., Rottmann, C. & Sheridan, P. (2024). University of Toronto, Troost ILead Case study. In Jamieson, M. & Donald. J. (Ed.) Engineering Leadership Programs in Canada. OER e-book.
Rottmann, C. (2024). What can we learn from case studies of engineering leadership programing across Canada? In Jamieson, M. & Donald. J. (Ed.) Engineering Leadership Programs in Canada. OER e-book.
Rottmann, C. (in process—extended abstract accepted for special issue). Engineering Societies as Policy Actors: Can Professional Advocates be Public Servants? Journal of Engineering Education
Rottmann, C. Moore, E. Chan, A, Macdonald-Roach, E, Radebe, D (in process) Recruitment and retention: Tracking Inequity in Engineers’ Career Paths. Engineering Studies.

Conference Papers

Azad, A. & Moore, E. (2024). Bridging Skillset Gaps in University-Based Incubators. Paper presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Azad, A., & Moore, E. (2024). Lessons Learned from Teaching System Thinking to Engineering Students. Paper presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Azad, A., Hounsell, A., & Moore, E. (2024). Advancing Engineering Education: Linking Systems Thinking skills to the tools through a revised framework. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Chan, A., Rottmann, C., Moore, E., Radebe, D., & Macdonald-Roach, E. (2024). Exploring career path streaming through an intersectional lens: Race, gender, and engineering in the Canadian context. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Jamieson, M., Donald, J., Rottmann, C. (2024). A review of Canadian engineering leadership program case studies. Lightning talk presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Kerr, V., Moore, E., & Sheridan, P. (2024). An Exploration of Conflict Asymmetry in a First-Year Engineering Design Project Team. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Kerr, V., Sheridan, P., & Moore, E. (2024). A Socio-Emotional Framework to Understand Engagement in Engineering Student Project-Teams. Paper presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Li, J., Chan, A., & Moore, E. (2024). Learning Leadership: A qualitative case study on leadership development inside engineering consulting firms. The 13th Researching Work and Learning Conference, Linköping, Sweden.
Li, J., Chan, A., Marzi, E., & Moore, E. (2024). Work-In-Progress: Understanding ”engineering leadership” within Engineering Consulting Firms. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Litster, G., Sheridan, P., & Moore, E. (2024). Are we talking about the same thing? – The use of “groups” and “teams” in Canadian Engineering Education Research. Paper presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Macdonald-Roach, E., Rottmann, C., Moore, E., Chan, A., Radebe, D., van Beers, S., & Nixon, S. (2024). Are hardhats required for engineering identity construction? Gendered and racialized patterns in Canadian engineering graduates’ professional identities. Paper presented at the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Moore, E., Romkey, L., & Azad, A. (2024). Engineering Change: Introducing Systems Thinking as an Engineering Leadership Skill. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
Olechowski, A., Asuzu, C., Cheng K. (2024). The personas of cloud cad collaboration: A case study of a team of cad professionals. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, pages 1–38.
Olechowski, A., Flus, M., Litster G. (2025). Presenting Hackathon Data for Design Research: A Transcript Dataset. Journal of Mechanical Design, pages 1–17, February 2025.
Olechowski, A., Lawrie, E., Flus, M., Hay, L.,Wodehouse, A. (2024). From theory to practice: a roadmap for applying dual-process theory in design cognition research. Journal of Engineering Design, 0(0):1–21.
Olechowski, A., Vrolijk, A. (2024). Computer-aided design as a research instrument for engineering design: supporting multiple methods by observing artifacts, actors, and actions. Journal of Engineering Design, 0(0):1–32.
Rana, K., Coll, F., Master, E. & Moore, E. (2024). Using Systems Thinking to Understand Bio-Product Commercialization: The Chemical Engineer’s Perspective. Paper presented at CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Rottmann, C. (2024). “Leadership as an alienating social myth”: Disciplinary fissures as a catalyst to interdisciplinary understanding. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education, St Lawrence Section Conference, Toronto, ON.
Rottmann, C., C., Moore, E., & Chan, A. (2024). Broken telephone: The long and winding road from encoding to decoding in mixed methods research. Paper presented at the CEEA-ACÉG Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB.
Rottmann, C., Radebe, D., Moore, E., Chan, A., Macdonald-Roach, E., van Beers, S., & Nixon, S. (2024). Why would you ask me about engineering culture and belonging? Introducing social science prompts into engineering surveys. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Seattle, WA.

Reports & Magazine Articles

Chan, A., Kerr, V., Weissling, L. & Moore, E. (March 2025). Who ends up where? And how do race, gender, and where you studied matter? Deciphering occupational stratification among engineering graduates in Canada, using Census 2021 data. The Voice, pp. 12-13.
Kerr, V., Chan, A., Moore, E. & Weissling, L. (2025). Towards an Understanding of the Contemporary Engineering Profession: Occupational Outcomes of Engineering Graduates in Canada by Gender, Race, and Location of Study. Ontario Society for Professional Engineers. https://ospe.on.ca/advocacy/advocacy-publications/research-reports/

Awards & Grants

Awards

Best DEI Paper Award—American Society for Engineering Education, Liberal Education/Engineering Studies (LEES) Division (2024)—Rottmann, C., Radebe, D., Moore, E., Chan, A., Macdonald-Roach, E., van Beers, S., & Nixon, S. (2024). Why would you ask me about engineering culture and belonging? Introducing social science prompts into engineering surveys.
Rottmann, C. CEEA-ACEG Fellow, Awarded June 19th, 2025.

Grants

Olechowski, A. Microsoft Research Competition – AI and the New Future of Work CFP (2024). Analysis of designer virtual communication. $50,000.
Rottmann, C. SSHRC Exchange Institutional Research Grant (2025-2026). Engineering career paths and EDI: Foregrounding social structure to reveal the ideological nature and material impact of meritocracy $1,530.00.
Rottmann, C. (PI), Male, S., Moore, E., (Co-PIs) SSHRC Insight Development Grant IDG-430-2024-00214. Professionally situated ethical development: Early career engineers in Canada and Australia navigate the historic tension between business and science in construction, mining, and biomedical industries, (2024-2026) $53,202.00.
Moore, E. (co-applicant), Bilton, A. (PI) et al. NSERC Create Grant. Sensing, Data, and Analytics for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDA-for-SDGs), (2025-2030) $1,650,000.00.
Moore, E. (PI), Hsiao, A. & Domike, R. (Co-Applications). NSERC Discovery Horizon Grant. INFUSE: Integrating Factors of Sustainability in Self-Driving Labs for Energy Applications, (2025-2030) $487,300.00.
Moore, E. CFI-John Evans Leadership Fund. A Collaboratorium to Improve Problem Framing in Engineering Design, (2024-2026) $193,384.00.
Rottmann, C. (PI) Connaught New Researcher Award. But I could be fired! How early career engineers hold the public paramount from organizationally subordinate locations, (2024-2026) $24,623.

Invited Research Talks

Moore, E. Invited Panelist. Her-Story in the Making. WISE, University of Toronto. March 13th, 2025.
Moore, E. Invited Panelist. Pathways to Purpose: Exploring Sustainability Careers. Leading Change Summit. Toronto, ON. February 10th, 2025.
Moore, E. Invited Panelist and Workshop Leader. Leveraging EdTech to Engineer Change. EWB Xchange Conference. University of Toronto. November 10th, 2024
Moore, E. System Mapping: Seeing the Forest for the Trees. Biozone Innovation Talk Series, University of Toronto, September 12th, 2024
Moore, E., & Chan, A. Engineering Career Paths. Society of Women in Engineering (SWE) International Women in Engineering Day, University of Toronto, June 13th, 2024.
Rottmann, C. Integrating Social Justice into Engineering Education—invited by Aida Guerra on behalf of the SEFI@Work Sig to speak (with Gordon Hoople) to European engineering education researchers about our chapter in the International Handbook on Engineering Education Research. (February 7th, 2025)—virtual

The Clarke Prize Environmental Design Challenge

Originally a capstone project attached to a single course, the Clarke Prize was reimagined in 2024 with ISTEP support as a co-curricular offering available to the entire faculty's undergraduate students. The program now reaches over 100 students each year with representation from every department in the faculty.

Looking Ahead | What's Next for ILead?

Preparing Tomorrow's Engineering

Being an engineer is more than solving equations and complex technical problems. It’s about working with people, building strong teams and creating positive social change. Leadership education complements technical education by offering opportunities for personal, interpersonal and professional development. Knowing who you are — your strengths, talents and preferences — empowers you to effectively collaborate with others and work toward a vision to influence positive change.

In 2018, the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP) was created to bring together the Faculty’s transdisciplinary-focused units within a single academic unit. This organizational change connected ILead with units dedicated to engineering communication, business, entrepreneurship, and socio-technical thinking, enabling us to deliver our curricular and co-curricular programming on a much larger scale. Within ISTEP, the ILead mandate continues to grow and evolve, contributing to the Faculty’s mission of advancing innovative and inclusive engineering education.

As part of the ISTEP community, ILead is more empowered than ever to realize its vision: engineers leading transformative change to build a better world. With the increased capacity and interdisciplinarity that ISTEP provides, we are energized, inspired, and ready to seize the future that is full of possibility.

By the Numbers | Co-curricular & Club Support

From the period of May 2024 - April 2025

Students Engaged in Co-curricular Programming

Students Supported Through Curricular Integration

Student Clubs Supported

Student Leaders Supported with Specialized Leadership Training

Thank you for supporting our work

This year’s report marks yet another exciting evolution in our journey. What began as the ILead Annual Report in 2011 will now continue as part of the broader ISTEP Annual Report, reflecting ILead’s integral role within the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice. As a signature initiative of ISTEP, ILead continues to advance leadership development in engineering education. This transition allows us to showcase our collective impact across ISTEP’s programs and partnerships, while maintaining the distinct strengths and legacy of ILead.

We are excited to continue sharing our progress in next year’s ISTEP Annual Report.

Find out how you can support Troost ILead

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