University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering - Student Life

Student Life

Many students in the faculty actively participate in the University of Waterloo Engineering Society. Due to the co-op nature of the program, the society is split into two sub societies, named "Society A" and "Society B". Each term, one society is "on-stream", meaning they are in an academic term, and the other is "off-stream", meaning they are on co-op. The on-stream society for each term runs many different events both on and off campus as well as services in the society's office. The society also runs a number of charity events, including an annual "Bus Push" wherein student volunteers raise money for charity by pulling (despite the event's name as a "push") a Grand River Transit bus 7 kilometres from campus to Kitchener City Hall.

First-year students receive yellow hard hats during their orientation week which signify their recognition and adherence of the principles of engineering. During the week, they are also introduced to the society mascot, a 60" (1,524mm) pipe wrench known simply as the TOOL (formerly the RIDGID TOOL). The TOOL is the centre of school spirit for engineering students, and it frequently appears at events organized by the engineering society.

Students in the faculty are grouped into classes based on their program. The class sizes tend to vary between disciplines, with class sizes of just over 100 for Nanotechnology, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Software and Systems Design Engineering, and smaller class sizes for Chemical, Environmental, Management, Civil and Geological Engineering as well as in Architecture. Classes generally spend the vast majority of their time together, whether it is in lectures on academic terms or on their designated co-op terms. Due to this, classes generally develop a sense of camaraderie and tend to become a cohesive group, sometimes even building friendly inter-class rivalries.

The school prides itself in the high calibre of students that it attracts every year. Although the workload is very heavy and challenging, engineering students are among the most active and competitive in the student body. UW Engineering students used to finish top in competitions such as the Canadian Engineering Competition, the Formula SAE Competition (1st of Canadian teams, 4th in the world in 2005), the Challenge X (1st overall in 2005), the North American Solar Challenge (Guinness World Record holder), and the International Aerial Robotics Competition. (Maintains 2nd place in 2005)