Events

Back to School

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It’s the academic new year, and our new and returning students are starting classes this week.  I won’t be returning to class, since I’ve already been teaching courses for the past 12 months straight and am now going into a “non-teaching term”.  Time to catch up on paperwork, side projects, research funding applications and various other things.

For Engineering admissions, we are starting to gear up for the 2016 cycle and getting things ready.  We have the first major event of the recruiting cycle, the Ontario Universities’ Fair coming up on September 25-27.  I wrote a post last year about doing some preparation before attending that event, to make the best use of your time.

Soon I’ll update some information for future posts on what’s going on for Waterloo Engineering admissions.

Preparing for the OUF

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The Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF) is coming up next weekend (Sept 19-21), and the admissions staff have been busy preparing.  There are travel and hotel arrangements, training of volunteers, and all sorts of other things to do.  The OUF is held in the Toronto Convention Centre, and all Ontario universities have people there to meet with prospective students, parents, etc.  There is a website with more information. Continue reading →

Electrical and Computer Design Projects 2013

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Continuing the topic of the previous post on Mechatronics fourth year design projects, here is a list of projects completed by the graduating students in our Electrical and Computer Engineering programs.  Again, these are the result of the group design experience that is required in all of our engineering programs.  These projects are organized by “themes”, such as power systems, music/entertainment, software, sensors, and transportation (to name a few).  The list is a nice example of the scope and breadth of things that students in the ECE programs get involved with.  I assume that some of these projects are in collaboration with companies, although they aren’t explicitly identified.

If you would like more details on some of those projects, there is a book of “Abstracts” that gives a brief description about each project.  Glancing through, I like the naval collision avoidance system (and the helicopter missle avoidance too), the “Watchdog” animal monitor for veterinarians, and the electrostatic speaker design project.  But there are lots of others that seem quite interesting too.

Mechatronics Design Projects 2013

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Next week our graduating Mechatronics Engineering students present the results of their fourth year design projects during their Mechatronics Engineering Design Symposium.  There is a project list with links  so that you can see examples of what senior-level students do as their “capstone” design experience.  It is quite an interesting list, covering a variety of application areas such as biomedical (laparoscopic surgery and assistive devices), environmental (water treatment), agricultural (egg washing and sorting), and a rather intriguing 3D chocolate printer.  There are quite a variety of other things too, well worth looking at if you’re wondering what mechatronics engineering students do at Waterloo.

All Waterloo Engineering programs have similar upper year group design projects, usually selected or initiated by the students, and sometimes in collaboration with company sponsors.  The purpose is to provide an opportunity for “real world” design experience, with project management and communications included.  In many cases these are projects that are inspired or initiated during co-op work terms, and sometimes they are ideas that the students hope to commercialize after graduation.  For high school students trying to decide on a future path, looking at some of these projects can be very helpful in understanding what engineers do, so I’ll try to find more examples in the coming weeks.

Meeting Your Waterloo: Our Students

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One of the best ways to find out about a university and its programs is to meet and talk to the people that are experiencing it every day.  This includes our faculty, who can give broad and experienced insight into curriculum, careers, and the engineering profession.  But many applicants find it easier and more interesting (sorry faculty!) to talk to current students,  who were applicants themselves just a few months or years ago.  There are several ways for people to connect with our current students. Continue reading →

Meeting Your Waterloo – Quantum-Nano Centre

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Today was the official opening for the new Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) on the Waterloo campus, sponsored in-part by the co-founder of RIM and the Blackberry, Mike Lazaridis.  This will be the new “home” for our Nanotechnology Engineering students, with classrooms, teaching and research labs, faculty offices, and meeting spaces where people can collaborate.  The opening ceremonies had the usual speeches, which were actually quite inspirational.  But the biggest excitement was generated at the start when Prof. Stephen Hawking from Cambridge delivered the opening address! Continue reading →

Meeting your Waterloo

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June 18 is the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the final major clash between Napoleon’s French Imperial forces and the Anglo-Dutch and Prussian allies arrayed against him, near a small village in modern-day Belgium.  The battle clearly resonated throughout the western world, resulting in the eventual use of the name “Waterloo” for a county and village in Ontario, and a university named after the city where it was founded.  There is also a Waterloo in Quebec, Iowa, New York State, New Zealand, and many other locations according to Wikipedia.  You might wonder what history has to do with the theme of this blog, but I’ve managed to find a connection. Continue reading →

Last minute decisions

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Last Saturday we had our You@Waterloo Day, where applicants holding offers to Waterloo Engineering (and other programs) can visit, ask questions, and take tours.  I met some very nice, bright young people and their families.  Some have already accepted our offer and are just taking a look around to get prepared for September, clearly excited about the idea.

Others are still weighing their options, and it’s certainly a tough decision to make.  Different programs to compare, different universities, different cities, pros and cons, etc.  We usually try not to “convince” anyone to come to Waterloo, even though we obviously think it’s a great place.  That’s a very personal decision, and we know Waterloo is not the best choice for everyone.  If we can simply answer their questions as openly and completely as possible, that will give them the information they need to make the choice that is right for them.