Engineering Student Stories: Materials, Medicine, & Innovation

Quick Overview

The University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering hosted a webinar featuring current students sharing their experiences across various engineering disciplines, focusing on materials, medicine, and innovation, with students detailing Mechanical, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Chemical, and Nanotechnology Engineering curricula, co-op opportunities, and project-based learning.

Key Points: Charis, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student, noted that the program studies how things move, incorporating physics, math, and material science, with first-year skills including rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and CAD. Mulei, a fourth-year Mechatronics Engineering student, described the discipline as a combination of mechanical and electronics, hardware-based, and suitable for those who like mechanical, electrical, and software components combined. Emilia, a 3B Biomedical Engineering student, highlighted that the field involves applying engineering skills to the medical field, citing a favorite project where they built a 3D system to help forearm amputees play basketball. Megan, a 3B Chemical Engineering student, explained that the program uses chemistry, physics, and math to design processes converting raw materials into useful products, noting the first-year soap design project. Katelyn, a 2A Nanotechnology Engineering student, stated that nanotechnology utilizes quantum and physics to solve problems across industries like electronics and medicine, emphasizing that the program is very lab-heavy, potentially having the most heavy lab hours of all engineering programs. Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering students indicated minimal required chemistry beyond foundational first-year courses, allowing students to specialize later if interested in material science or metallurgy. Students consistently praised the supportive nature of professors across all disciplines and emphasized the value of the co-op program for exploring different industries and gaining real-world experience.