Winter / Hiver 2017 23 your field and background are totally dif- ferent than other team members. The main goal is shared amongst all, which is success of the team and the project. ICR: In reaching a consensus, how do multi- disciplinary teams avoid creating the percep- tion of invalidation when a member’s opinion is not reflected in the final decision? SR: Based on my experience, I think creating a friendly environment in which all have opportun- ity to talk and express their thoughts, knowing that they won’t be judged could play an important role. First, this could help them to express them- selves, bring innovative ideas to the discussions, and if their opinion is not reflected in the final decision at least they had an opportunity to speak up. Second, creating a friendly environment could help team members accept that rejection of an idea by the group isn’t a rejection of the person(s) that put forward the idea. ICR: To what extent do different professions have different approaches to problem solving? SR: Comparing engineers’ and clinicians’ approaches, I can say they have very different approaches. For example, while engineers are more focused on technical and methodological sides, clinicians’ first priority is human aspects. However, I can say that they all have the same goal — which is solving the problem in the best possible way. They reach that with different per- spectives, and that’s why flexibility is important in multidisciplinary teams. ICR: How much understanding of different disciplines does the team leader need? SR: I think that leaders need to engage in an ongoing process and improve their understand- ing of different disciplines: in addition to seeing the big-picture, they need to also be able to grasp details and understand them. In general, having a big-picture knowledge is required, and in some aspects, detailed understanding is important and influential in guiding the team well. So bal- anced knowledge and understanding of different disciplines is important for leaders in multi- disciplinary teams. ICR: How can a leader guard against bias in favour of her/his own background/discipline? SR: I think having an open mind and being eager to learn could help; learning different disciplines could give leaders multiple perspectives and ways of looking at the same problem. Also, hav- ing multi-disciplinary team meetings periodic- ally, and at key decision points, would be a way to give equal voice to all disciplines, and guard against biased thinking and decision making. n IEEE Canadian Review - La Revue canadienne de l’IEEE is published by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.’s Canadian unit. | All rights reserved. © 2017 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5997, U.S.A. | The editorial content of this magazine does not represent official positions of the IEEE or its organizational units. | Return Canadian undeliverables to: IEEE Canada, 685 Woodcrest Blvd, London, Ontario N6K 1P8 Member of / membre constituant de Engineering Institute of Canada l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs Member of / membre constituant de Engineering Institute of Canada l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs Member of / membre constituant de Engineering Institute of Canada l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs IEEECanadian Review La revue canadienne de l’IEEE Its principal objectives are: To inform Canadian members of IEEE on issues related to the impacts of technology, and its role in supporting economic development and societal benefits within Canada. 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Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA SAMIRA RAHIMI INTERVIEW cont’d from pg 8 A FEW WORDS FROM THE EiC, cont’d from pg 6 Canada volunteer with an IEEE Northern Canada Section record of service going back many years. Over the next few issues, we’ll be profiling STEM activities led by IEEE Region 7 volunteers. One of the top three recommeda- tions flowing out of last August’s IEEE Sections Congress relates to enabling greater local STEM outreach at the Section level. Still on the topic of education, Contributing Editor Jon Rokne brings us a book review that looks critically at the efficacy of increased use of technology in education. In Terry Malkinson’s columns, I always find several items that particularly pique my interest. In this issue, “Biztech” takes a brief look at Canada’s Avro Arrow fighter jet, an example of this country’s aerospace prowess that Profs. Heywang and Heimann might well have cited, had the project not been aborted in 1959. In “Engineering Management: What’s New in the Literature?” Terry salutes the 55th anniversary of the launch of the Alouette I satellite, a Canadian space technology success story honoured as an IEEE Milestone in 1993; later satellites in that program enjoyed similar success. Terry also reviews coverage of several NASA probes that have been sending back images and data after their long-planned far-flung rendezvous. All the best to you and yours in 2018. n