Having worked in the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada, Dean Cao has seen many approaches to engineering education and research. What drew her to the uOttawa Faculty of Engineering was the opportunity to apply her global perspective to a unique local context.
“I’ve learned a lot from seeing how engineering is taught and practised around the world,” she explains. “What I bring here is that global perspective, but adapted to Ottawa’s ecosystem.”
This balance of global awareness and local relevance shapes how she thinks about the Faculty’s future. It means preparing students and faculty members to think broadly while grounding their work in the realities of the communities they serve.
First impressions of the uOttawa Engineering community
Just months into her role at one of Canada’s top universities, Cao has a strong sense of what sets the Faculty and uOttawa apart: their momentum. She sees it on campus and across Canada’s broader engineering and innovation landscape. This reflects how she views her role: building on the Faculty’s strengths in research, innovation and community engagement to shape its next chapter.
“The University [of Ottawa] is warm, welcoming and full of energy — especially the students,” she says to civil engineering student Hayley Jubinville in a candid, student-led conversation. “The researchers and professors here have deep expertise across so many areas. That’s what will really drive us forward.”
Students are engaged and entrepreneurial, and faculty members bring depth and range to their research. And besides being Canada’s capital city, Ottawa has the country’s largest technology park, making it the ideal place for engineering to make an impact.
That sense of belonging is echoed by Jubinville. She describes the Faculty from a student’s perspective: “No matter your interests, there’s a club, a design team or an association to get involved in and always something happening.”
For Cao, this energy is more than the Faculty’s culture. It’s a signal of potential.
Strengthening industry partnerships in Ottawa
A key part of Ottawa’s ecosystem is industry. Strengthening connections with industry partners across Ottawa, particularly in the Kanata North technology park, is one of Cao’s top priorities. These partnerships, she explains, are essential to ensuring that students gain real-world experience and that the University’s research leads to impactful outcomes for industry.
Equally important is having collaboration within the University itself. Cao is focused onF deepening partnerships across faculties, recognizing that today’s most complex challenges don’t fit neatly within disciplinary lines. Engineering, in her view, is at its strongest when it remains relevant and connected to industry, to other fields and to society.
Cao’s priorities for uOttawa Engineering
Looking ahead, Cao consistently returns to the idea of connection. This includes connecting students to opportunities, researchers to collaborators and the Faculty to broader local and national priorities.
She’s particularly energized by how uOttawa engineering students are already thinking about the future. Through experiential learning opportunities like Design Day, other client-based projects and hackathons, students are challenged early on to develop real-world solutions and consider the impact of their work.
“These experiences get students thinking about how they’re going to shape the future,” Jubinville says. It’s a perspective that clearly resonates with the dean.
“Our students are so bright, energetic and entrepreneurial,” Cao says. “They’re ready to change the world, and I want to be part of that.”
Caroline Cao
— Dean, Faculty of Engineering
As the Faculty of Engineering enters its next chapter, Cao envisions a future shaped by collaboration, curiosity and purpose. One where students are empowered to tackle real challenges, research is connected to societal needs and engineering education reflects both global excellence and local responsibility.
For her, this role is not only about leading the Faculty — it’s about contributing to a community that’s already doing meaningful work and amplifying its impact.
And if her first months are any indication, she’s firmly on that path.
Read the Ottawa Business Journal feature: New dean of uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering brings a history of entrepreneurship and innovation.
