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University of Waterloo Land Acknowledgement

We, the Waterloo Engineering Society, acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of ‎ the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.  Learn More

Mission

The University of Waterloo Engineering Society exists to promote a positive undergraduate experience among its members through representation of student opinion as well as support of academic, professional and social needs. The Society will strive to provide means for its members to develop and succeed as undergraduate students, and in their future endeavors.

Vision

The University of Waterloo Engineering Society will work to better facilitate representation of its students on all relevant matters. The Society will strive to grow and improve its academic, professional, and social events and services to cater to the expanding diversity of its members.

As Waterloo Engineering students alternate between work terms and school terms every four months, the Engineering Society is run alternately by two teams of students: Society “A” (A-Soc) and Society “B” (B-Soc). 

Each term the on-stream society switches between the two societies, allowing us to maintain a consistent set of executive, directors, and members. Depending on how each program’s streaming schedule is arranged, you may switch societies more than once during your time at Waterloo. Whichever society is on-term while you are in a school term is the society of which you are currently a member.

During even numbered years, A-Society is in school during the Winter and Fall terms, and B-Society is in school during the Spring term. During odd numbered years, A-Society is in school during the Spring term, and B-Society is in school during the Winter and Fall terms.

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B

A-Society Executive Team 

President: Garv Arora

VP Student Life: Anu Khanna & Tyler Nguyen

VP Finance: Kathleen Oliver & Asher Scaini

VP Academic: Steven Singh

VP Communications: Matt Watts

B-Society Executive Team 

President: Julia Evans

VP Student Life: Christian Bergmann

VP Finance: Priyanka Chakravarti

VP Academic: Victoria Swanson

VP Communications: Celia Evans

The President

The President is the face and voice of the Engineering Society, and it is ultimately their responsibility to ensure that the whole organization is properly represented and all operations are running smoothly. They represent engineering student interests at all times, including at various faculty and university meetings, where they do their best to ensure that actions taken by these groups serve their constituency. They are the official student link to the Dean’s Office and regularly meet with the Undergraduate Student Liaison Officer to present feedback on current issues affecting students. They also serve as the default student representative on tribunals held by the Faculty Committee for Student Appeals (FCSA). The President accompanies the VP Communications at certain larger conferences including CFES Engineering Leadership Conference (CELC), CFES Presidents’ Meeting (CFES PM), ESSCO Presidents’ Meeting (ESSCO PM), and ESSCO Annual General Meeting (ESSCO AGM). The on-term President serves as the spokesperson for the Tool, and is the sole person responsible for its wellbeing. They are also responsible for ensuring the Society’s documentation is up to date (Bylaws, Policy Manual, internal documents, and records). The president welcomes students to meet with them to discuss any concerns or suggestions they may have about the Engineering Society, and makes a strong effort to get to know their membership.

The Vice President, Academic

The VP Academic is responsible for representing student interests in all matters that are academic in nature. This includes curriculum, academic policies, cooperative education, and professional development. They attend meetings on various committees and are also responsible for managing the Society’s academic services and directorships, which include the Exam Bank, Resume Critiques and Interview Skills Workshops, Course Critiques, and the Career Fair. They also act as a liaison between Academic Reps and the Engineering Society, and may choose to offer resources to Academic Reps, which frequently include workshops. Another responsibility of the VP Academic is to actively pursue resolutions to any general academic concerns that students have.

The Vice President, Communications

The VP Communications serves as a representative of the Society to external organizations and to the community. They work with professional organizations such as Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) to promote student involvement in the engineering profession. In addition, the VP Communications frequently sits on student councils at a provincial and federal level, which allows them to liaise with representatives from other schools and share best practices for the benefit of the Waterloo Engineering Society. Another primary component of the VP Communications’ portfolio is to coordinate all of the advertising methods for the Engineering Society members through mailing lists and other social media platforms.

The Vice President, Finance

The VP Finance is responsible for the fiscal affairs of the society, which includes the dispersal of funds, and the creation and management of the termly budget. Directors use the VP Finance as a resource in planning the financial aspects of their events and services, and will submit their expense claims to the VP Finance for reimbursement. The VP Finance has signing authority of the Engineering Society Accounts, is responsible for managing the Novelties Store, RidgidWare, and POETS. The VP Finance typically also manages capital expenditures, and brainstorms ways to disperse funds in ways that most benefit students.

The Vice President, Student Life

The VP Student Life oversees all of the Engineering Society’s social events, and ensures all of the responsibilities of those directorships are fulfilled. The VP Student Life is prepared to provide any support required by such directors, which includes representing directorship concerns at executive meetings, answering resource and logistics questions, and resolving conflicts.The VP Student Life is responsible for creating the termly calendar of events and services. Another primary component of the VP Student Life portfolio is to promote Waterloo Engineering to the community at large through outreach and charity initiatives. The VP Student Life also manages and facilitates the Waterloo Engineering Competition (WEC) with the help of a commissioner and team of directors, and co-ordinates delegate participation in the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) and Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) as necessary.

When the University of Waterloo, then called the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, opened to students in Spring of 1957, the first class on campus was composed of 74 young men who dreamed of being engineers. With a radical new co-operative education system and modified school year (at the time 4 terms of three months each), the University began to grow, and soon after, in 1958, the inaugural engineering classes formed the first formal student organization on campus, the Engineering Council.

Before the University of Waterloo began making headlines for its academic prowess, the engineering students made national headlines in 1958 with a prank they pulled on the City of Waterloo by painting “BEER” on a city water tower. It was this student spirit and unity that would give the Engineering Council the ability to grow, and to continue the tradition of faculty pride.

As time progressed, the Engineering Council became the Engineering Society, and in 1971 a Constitution was drafted and approved, creating the Society we know. While Waterloo grew out of the muddy farm fields into an international academic powerhouse, the Engineering Society grew out of the original engineering huts of the late 50’s into the largest, most active student society on campus and one of the most active in all of Canada. Built on legacy and tradition, the Engineering Society continues to be a role model for other student societies, and while the University forges into its seventh decade, EngSoc continues to unify the students in the Faculty of Engineering.