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Farokh laqa Kakar was recently selected to receive a coveted Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). As her award letter describes, "these highly prestigious scholarships are offered to doctoral students who have demonstrated strong leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health.
We know Farokh very well at CWWA and consider her to be a most-amazing young engineer. She is a PhD candidate in the Civil Engineering Department at Ryerson University while also teaching at George Brown College in Toronto. But her leadership extends well beyond her academic work. Farokh was elected President of the new Canadian chapter of the Young Professionals of the International Water Association (IWA-YP). CWWA was able to support Farokh and the Canadian YPs to host the IWA-YP World Conference in Toronto in 2019. She is Vice President of the YP Committee of the Canadian Association for Water Quality (CAWQ) and she is part of our joint team planning for the big IWA World Water Congress in 2022 here in Canada.
Prior to coming to Canada just four years ago, Farokh was an Assistant Professor, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Balkh University in Afghanistan. While there, she was also leading women-related projects regarding teacher training at the International Assistance Mission.
Since coming to Canada, Farokh has been an active volunteer with the Afghan Women Organization and is a leader within the Society of Women Engineers in Greater Toronto.
Congratulations Farokh and thank you for your contributions to Canada! We are lucky to have you!!
Canadian Water and Wastewater Association