Recognizing the changing role of engineering in society, the Canadian Academy of Engineering established a task force to make recommendations on the roles of engineering faculties. The report of the task force, while identifying a number of important roles, focuses on the further broadening of engineering education.

Its recommendations call for evolutionary changes to ensure that this broadening actually takes place through: ensuring that breadth of learning is a major thrust of engineering education, emphasizing the development of learning skills in engineering students and ensuring that faculty members have broadening-oriented vision, values and behaviour.

Engineering faculties should also participate in university-wide liberal education and in improving the technological literacy of the general public. The report also addresses the role of research in engineering faculties, particularly in relation to the life preparation of the graduate students. Implementation of the report's recommendations is a challenge for engineering deans and leaders in Canadian industry, business and government.