Teams are formed by any inspired and determined group of engineering students who want to solve a compelling design challenge or fill an engineering niche outside of the classroom. In the event that none of the existing teams are able to satisfy your interests, you may consider starting one. New design team applications are accepted during each summer (space permitting).
The following are steps that should be taken if you intend to start a new student team:
1. Talk to Existing Teams
UBC Applied Science currently recognizes 35 Engineering Design Teams that design and build projects like submarines, satellites, and nearly everything in between. Chances are that an existing team may want to pursue the same idea as you, and may already be on their way to developing a design for it. Talk to members and executives of the team(s) most aligned with your project or design challenge, to determine if there is a possibility to incorporate your idea into existing design challenges. The faculty encourages collaboration between teams and urges you to explore becoming a sub-team of an already existing team. These teams already have the resources and faculty/industry resources to integrate your project and support its execution sooner.
2. Find a Faculty Advisor
Contact a Faculty member you are interested in working with, and ask them if they would like to support your team (consider their existing commitments). You should come prepared to answer any questions they might have regarding your team, its constitution and how exactly the team would be beneficial. You are also expected to share the faculty advisor responsibilities with them, so they know what the faculty's expectations are of their role. Make sure to take a look at the engineering design team application in order to guide you in the sort of expectations when creating a new design team.
3. Reach out to the Engineering Design Team Coordinator with your Proposal
Once you have found a potential faculty advisor, you will need to reach out to the Engineering Design Team Coordinator. In addition to providing the aforementioned information, you will need to respond to the questions below for a preliminary review. These questions are designed to guide new teams through the reflection process of becoming an Engineering Design Team at UBC and to determine if there are adequate resources available. It will help you develop a sound plan, clarify your team’s intentions to the faculty, and enable the faculty to advocate and support your team in the long-term. Your responses to these questions will be reviewed by the Engineering Design Team Advisory Committee (EDTAC).
Questions we have:
- What is the goal of the new team, and how is it not currently being met by existing student teams?
- What is the financial scope of the design challenge? Are there industry sponsorship opportunities? Does your team have a sound budget and funding plan?
- What is the timeline of the design solution or engineering project? Will it be a recurring design cycle or a one-time challenge? How are you going to decommission the project once the design cycle ends?
- Will you compete with other design teams outside of UBC?
- Will the Team require project space? If so, how much, and where?
- What is the Team structure going to look like?
- How will the Team stay accountable to itself and the Faculty?
- Do you need a recruitment strategy and succession plan?
- What are your teams learning goals and plans for team professional development?
- Will the team consist of at least 75% engineering students
4. Presentation and Meeting with the Engineering Design Team Advisory Committee
The EDT Coordinator will reach out to you if your team’s preliminary proposal is approved to schedule a presentation to learn more about this potential team. At this stage, a more detailed list of questions and topics for the presentation will be made available. Your Faculty Advisor may or may not choose to attend this meeting. These are the individuals who will be assessing your application:
- Minoli Navaratnam, Manager of Experiential Learning & Professional Development
- Richard Colwell, APSC Safety Officer
- Dr. Christoph Sielmann, Faculty Advisor for the Design Teams
- Engineering Design Team Coordinator
In the event that your application is not immediately accepted, there may be an opportunity to submit a revised application with the help of the Engineering Design Team Coordinator.
5. Greenlight to Become a Team
If you are approved as an Engineering Design Team, the EDT Coordinator will provide you with a list of the requirements for your team (annual registration/renewal, training requirements, etc.). Your new team will now be eligible for the benefits that Engineering Design Teams at UBC have.