Engineering Next

Happy ! Happy Engineers Week!
(📷: DiscoverE)
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This year’s theme is “WELCOME TO THE FUTURE”! Across the US today, we have accredited 4-year engineering programs at 739 colleges, plus accredited 2-year programs at 115 institutions. 🚀🤖♻️🎢 So many pathways for aspiring engineers to continue shaping the future!

On display at the University of Waterloo Engineering Open House yesterday:

COMMUNITY!

Students gave great tours and demos throughout the day. They explained how they are placed in cohorts in their discipline, from Day 1. So these are the same classmates students will be together with in courses and on projects until graduation. Students explained how they build camaraderie and a tight-knit class with inclusive chats on WhatsApp or Discord, where “someone always knows the answer to a homework problem”!

Student-run teams, including the Rocketry team, Baja SAE, the Concrete Canoe and Toboggan teams spend hours designing, coding, machining, building and testing their amazing creations. They stressed that all are welcome, even first year students who have zero design experience!

The Women in Engineering group is extremely supportive. All genders and allies are welcome. This past year, they said that the engineering department is 30% women (greater than the 20% typical for engineering).

It was clear that while the academics are challenging, the environment is friendly and supportive if students reach out and build their community!

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The University of Waterloo, with ~36,000 undergraduates in Ontario, Canada, is strong in Engineering and other STEM majors. It is particularly known for ties to industry and the extent of its co-op program - with many engineering students completing their (mandatory) co-op terms in the US.