Faculty of Engineering

Annual Iron Ring Ceremony

“The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer”

Annual Iron Ring Ceremony (March 9, 2024)

The Wardens of Camp 7 Halifax invite you to participate in the 109th Ceremony of The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. This Ritual offers an opportunity to those who will shortly join the engineering profession, to obligate themselves to the high standards of integrity that the profession has established. The ring that you will wear is a statement of your obligation to professional integrity.

109th Ceremony of The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer (Iron Ring Ceremony)

  • Date: Saturday March 9, 2024
  • Location: Halifax Convention Centre, Halifax, NS

Iron Ring Information Session:

  • Date: Monday January 22, 2024 (5 – 6pm)
  • Location: Irving Oil Auditorium, Sexton Campus
    • Information will be provided by the Wardens of Camp 7 Halifax on the background of the iron ring & ceremony, registration process, schedule for the day of the ceremony and eligibility requirements followed by any questions from audience.

Iron Ring Sizing Sessions:

  • Date: January 23 – 26, 2024
  • Location: Richard Murray Design Building, Sexton Campus
    • To complete your registration for the ceremony, you will need to provide the ring size for your pinkie finger.
    • The Dalhousie Undergraduate Engineering Society (DUES) will be running ring sizing sessions on campus so you can try on iron rings to find your correct ring size before you register online.
    • Please note that DUES will be operating the Ring Sizing station on:
      • Jan 23 & 24 (10 am – 3 pm)
      • Jan 25 & 26 (10 am – 12 noon)

Online Registration for Ceremony:

  • Dates: January 23 – 31, 2024
    • Registration opens on January 23rd. Please register here.
    • Registration is ONLY required for Student Candidates and Senior Engineer Candidates who will be participating in the ceremony to take the Obligation and receive their iron rings.
    • Ceremony Guest Tickets: Each candidate is entitled to two (2) complimentary guest tickets for friends/family who would like to attend the iron ring ceremony.  People accessing the ceremony with guest tickets do not have to be an engineer who wears the iron ring.  Guest tickets must be ordered during online registration, and will be available for pick up on morning of March 9th at the ceremony registration desk.
    • Please note, the guest tickets are NOT for the luncheon, just entrance to the ceremony room to watch The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer


Event Schedule for Ceremony Day – Sat March 9, 2024:

9:00 am – 11:30 am: Arrival at Halifax Convention Center

  • Candidates will complete registration by providing name/program to attendants to receive package containing their Iron Ring & Obligation Card for ceremony, luncheon ticket outlining their meal selections & 1 -2 guest tickets for the ceremony (if ordered during registration process)

11:30 am – 11:45 am – Luncheon Room Opens

  • Candidates are to be seated in dining room.

12:00 pm – 1:30pm – Professional Luncheon

  • Jointly sponsored by Engineers Nova Scotia and Dalhousie’s Faculty of Engineering, the luncheon provides an introduction to the professional practice of engineering with presentations by representatives of each of the sponsors
  • The luncheon is ONLY open to the candidates receiving their rings.
  • Only those in attendance at the luncheon will be eligible to attend the ceremony.

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Ceremony Room Opens

  • Doors open to the Ceremony Room
  • The 2024 Ceremony will be an OPEN ceremony.
    • Guests with tickets (family/friends of the iron ring candidates) & members of Camp 7  are asked to enter the ceremony room and find a seat in the general seating area.
    • For Engineers who wear the iron ring and who are coming to the ceremony to present the iron ring to one of our candidates, are to enter the ceremony room between 1-1:30pm-1:45pm and find a seat in the general seating area.
      • There will be a general invitation for all engineers ringing candidates to come to the floor in front of the stage about midway through the ceremony.

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm – Procession of Iron Ring Candidates

  • Iron Ring Candidates organized by Camp 7 Wardens to enter the ceremony room in procession.

2:00 – 3:00 pm – The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Ceremony

  • The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer ceremony begins at 2:00 pm.
  • Candidates must participate in the ceremony and take the Obligation in order to receive their rings
  • No Ceremony = No Ring

3:00 – 4:00 pm – Photographs & Pick Up of Ceremony Certificates

  • After the ceremony, photographs may be taken in the ceremony room in front of the Camp 7 Banner & Ceremony Implements.
  • Please remember to stop by the Registration Desk before you leave the convention center to pick up your Ceremony Certificate from Camp 7 Halifax.

Who is eligible to register for the Iron Ring Ceremony?

  1. Dalhousie Undergraduate Engineering Students who are expected to complete their BEng program requirements in the Spring 2024, Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 terms.
  2. Senior Candidates
  3. a) Graduate Students in the Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University, or
    b) Internationally trained engineers working in Nova Scotia

who can demonstrate they have met the qualifications from an accredited Canadian undergraduate engineering university program by being registered with one of the provincial professional engineer associations (Engineers Nova Scotia, for example).

What is The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Ceremony?

For nearly a century, Canadian engineering graduates have been invited to voluntarily participate in “The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer”. Participants make a personal obligation to live by a high standard of ethical conduct regarding their duties and responsibilities towards themselves, other engineers and society in general. During the Ritual, the engineering graduates are welcomed to the profession of engineering by those that have preceded them. Over 500,000 engineering graduates have attended a Ritual ceremony in Canada. An iron ring has been given to each one, serving as a constant reminder to them and others of their obligation.

The Corporation of the Seven Wardens Inc. is a not-for-profit Canadian Corporation, managed by volunteers, whose purpose is to administer and regulate the use of “The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer”.  Local groups, or Camps, across Canada are responsible for the delivery of the Ritual to candidates.

Camp 7 Halifax is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. We are all Treaty people.
The mission of Camp 7 Halifax is to administer the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer ceremony for candidates whose graduation from the Bachelor of Engineering programs at Dalhousie University is imminent, and for internationally trained engineers who are pursuing graduate engineering degrees at Dalhousie University or who are working in our Nova Scotia engineering community.   We welcome any feedback you may have for us on our annual ceremony in Camp 7 Halifax.  Please feel free to contact us at anytime.

Iron Rings are worn by many Engineers in Canada, reminding those who wear it, and others, of their ethical obligation to live by a high standard of professional conduct in their service of the public. The Iron Ring is not a symbol of registration to practice as an Engineer in Canada.  Qualification and registration to practice is the role and responsibility of the provincial and territorial licensing bodies.