Matt Borland, PhD, P.Eng

Hi! My name is Matt. I'm a Lecturer in the Department of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. I have researched musical instrument design and construction during my PhD; taught my students how to build electronic musical interfaces; and co-founded the Waterloo Tape Music Club, a collaborative space for exploring new music. My work has always spanned across disciplines, with many artistic collaborations and projects over the years.

These days I don't know what I'm doing. I feel upside down.
The things I feel we need, more than anything, are good relationships. With each other, with our students, with the people that run this university, with this Land and our Indigenous hosts here in Ontario, with the animals and the water and the trees, with the people and places our work is connected to around the entire planet.

We need to reconnect the web of relationality that the past few years has torn holes in.

We need to understand that acting accountably, and in good relationship, makes you feel good! We don't need to be saviours or leaders; we need to be good neighbours and friends.

We need to build consensus and community. We need to understand that we should be working for the good of this place as a whole, not just for ourselves, or our unit. This will take time. It will be hard and require us to put others before ourselves. We will need to listen to each other, deeply, and with an open heart. Let's do it together. This is the work we need to do. Let's start!

• Music Technology
• Design Methods
• Systems Thinking

• 2014, Doctorate Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada
• 2009, Master of Applied Science Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada
• 2006, Bachelor of Applied Science Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

• SYDE 161 - Introduction to Design
  • Taught in 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Aliens invade first-year design course