Rumina Velshi (born c.1955) is the

Canad Canad may refer to: * Sanjak of Çanad, an Ottoman-era district * Magyarcsanád, known in Serbian as Čanad, a village in Hungary * Cenad, known in Serbian as Čanad, a commune in Romania See also * Canad Inns, a chain of hotels * Canard (disambi ...

ian President and Chief Executive Officer of the

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC; french: Commission Canadienne de sûreté nucléaire) is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada. Mandate and history Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was established under t ...

(CNSC). She chairs a committee for

International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...

Life

Velshi was born in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and she had parents who had Indian heritage. In 1972,

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

who was the President of Uganda decided to eject Ugandan Asians from the country. She and her parents had to leave and they went to Canada. She arrived early in the year and later that year she had to decide on a university course. Velshi has noted that when was evicted from Uganda she had one significant possession and that was her education. She was a student interested in maths and physics so a course in Engineering beckoned. She liked the description of the Civil Engineering course and she enrolled. During the first lecture she realised that she was one of three women students among about 100 students on the course. She graduated in 1978 and her first job was with Ontario Hydro. Velshi joined the

in 2011. and she won the 2011 Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada Leadership Award in that year. In 2018, Velshi became the President and CEO of the CNSC. Left to Right:Velshi, Marina_Belyaeva,_Director_of_International_Cooperation_at_Rosatom_and_Amelia_Lee_Zhi_Yi.html" ;"title="Rosatom.html" ;"title="Marina Belyaeva, Director of International Cooperation at Rosatom">Marina Belyaeva, Director of International Cooperation at Rosatom and Amelia Lee Zhi Yi">Rosatom.html" ;"title="Marina Belyaeva, Director of International Cooperation at Rosatom">Marina Belyaeva, Director of International Cooperation at Rosatom and Amelia Lee Zhi Yi of UN Nuclear Young Generation on International Women’s Day in 2019 Velshi has been keen to encourage other women to choose a career in a STEM subject. She is the vice-chair of "Scientists in School" which organises opportunities for 700,000 Canadian school children to attend science workshops. In 2020, she took on an international role for the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

becoming their Chairperson for their Commission on Safety Standards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velshi, Rumina 1950s births Living people Civil engineers Ugandan women engineers University of Toronto alumni