University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering - Professional Development For Engineering Students (PDEng)

Professional Development For Engineering Students (PDEng)

PDEng is a series of courses which are to be completed by students in the Engineering Faculty during their coop terms. It was started in January 2005 with the objective of ensuring that students have professional skills to complement the technical skills students normally learn in class.

The courses attempt to teach students critical thinking to address common problems that occur in workplace settings, such as project management or collaboration between team members.

Ever since its introduction, the PDENG program has been widely criticized for its lack of effectiveness, failure to meet normal course standards for marking, and overworking students during their co-op work terms.

A final recommendation to overhaul the program was made May 12, 2010 by the Dean of Engineering., which can be found here Dean of Engineering's Review of PDENG . PDEng currently still exists and is running regularly scheduled courses until Winter 2011, at which point either PDEng or WatPD Engineering will be offered. Many details on the switch are still not known, however all engineering students will still have a mandatory course on professional skills for at least 5 of their co-op terms.