Waterloo launches campaign to educate the engineer of the future

Student experience will literally reach new heights in Robozone, part of the vision of the $70 million Educating the Engineer of the Future campaign launched by the Faculty of Engineering.

The two-storey indoor flight centre for testing autonomous and robotic vehicles is one of the innovative features of Engineering 7 (E7), the 230,000-square-foot, seven-storey building to be funded by the campaign.

New Waterloo Engineering Ideas Clinic™

To accommodate major undergraduate growth, E7 will provide much-needed teaching space for the Faculty’s new biomedical engineering, which received over 900 applications this year, and expanded mechatronics engineering programs. It will house some of the best research facilities in the world, including an additive manufacturing (3D printing) laboratory.  E7 will also be home to the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre and the multidisciplinary Engineering Ideas Clinic™, where undergraduate students integrate classroom theory with hands-on learning as they design, build, test and refine ideas. Construction on E7 is expected to begin this fall and take three years.

Other campaign goals are to establish research chairs in emerging technologies and increase undergraduate and graduate scholarships to attract the best and brightest students to the Faculty.

The Educating the Engineer of the Future vision is based on giving engineering students enhanced experiences to help them achieve their aspirations and ensure they are uniquely prepared for the future, explains Pearl Sullivan, Dean of Engineering.

“We will use the $70 million raised to expand educational opportunities, open up new avenues of research, create innovation that helps drive the economic engine of Canada and helps shape the future of technology,” says Sullivan. “With our world-leading research institutes and centres – many deeply involved in emerging and disruptive technologies – Waterloo Engineers are having a profound impact on the future of technology around the world.”

Educating the Engineer of the Future website

The campaign’s website features stories about Waterloo Engineering’s students, graduates, researchers and faculty members along with remarkable innovations like the Waterloo Pump, which put the University, as well as the City of Waterloo, on the map.  It also includes the campaign video produced by Angle Media Group, co-founded by Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology graduates.

“The campaign is an important undertaking for everyone in our Faculty,” says Sullivan. “Nearly 60 years ago, we redefined engineering education with co-op. We need to build upon that bold vision and continue to lead in Educating the Engineer of the Future.”