Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medals

The Faculty of Engineering Alumni Achievement Medal program has been established to recognize the accomplishments of Waterloo Engineering alumni.

The Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal (originally known as the Young Alumni Achievement Medal), created in 2009 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the medal program, was established to provide tangible recognition of alumni who recently graduated and have distinguished themselves through their professional achievements, community service or academic excellence.

The award will examine the accomplishments of the nominee based on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated business, engineering/architecture/entrepreneurship, and/or management accomplishments
  • Demonstrated volunteer leadership and humanitarian endeavours
  • Demonstrated accomplishments in the pursuit of academic careers and research

One medal will be given each year to the selected nominee who:

  • Has graduated within the last 10 years from the Faculty of Engineering (Architecture, CBET, and/or Engineering) at the University of Waterloo
  • Has achieved notable level of success base upon, but not limited to the above criteria, including activities that inspire their peers, other recent alumni, recent graduates, and current Architecture, CBET, and/or Engineering students

Medal nomination procedure

The Faculty of Engineering welcomes nominations for the Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal from anyone (alumni, students, faculty, staff, retiress, and members of the public) familiar with the work, character and/or achievements of a Waterloo Engineering alumni. The nominee must hold a UW Faculty of Engineering undergraduate and/or graduate degree(s) - this includes alumni with degrees from Architecture, CBET, and/or Engineering.

To nominate an individual for the Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal, an online nomination form must be completed and submitted by the deadline of April 30th. If the nominee is chosen to continue to the next level of the nomination process, Engineering Alumni Affairs will then contact the nominator and request supporting documentation for the nomination which includes at least two recommendation letters (from other than family members) and any other relevant supporting information such as biographies, CV's, media releases, etc.

Medal selection procedure
  1. Call for nominations continues throughout the year. Friends, family, colleagues, faculty members and other alumni may nominate alumni candidates.
  2. All nominations will be reviewed by the Nominations Committee, which consists of three Engineering alumni, one Engineering faculty member and the Alumni Officer, Engineering.
  3. The Nominations Committee will select up to three of the nominated alumni for consideration by the Selection Committee.
  4. The Selection Committee, which consists of an alumni from Waterloo Region, an alumni from outside of Waterloo Region, Chair of the Engineering Faculty Council and the Dean of Engineering, will review the nominations and select one Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal winner.
  5. The Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal winner will be notified by the Dean of Engineering through a telephone call and letter.
  6. Alumni nominated by the Nominations Committee but not chosen by the Selection Committee will remain in a nomination pool for consideration in subsequent years for a maximum of three (3) years.
  7. The Faculty of Engineering Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal is awarded at the annual Faculty of Engineering Awards Dinner, held each fall.

Nomination deadline

All nominations must be received by April 30. Nominations received after April 30 will be considered in the following year.

For further information about the Medal program or nominations, please contact the Senior Alumni Officer for Engineering via email.