I was interested in the foundation years where I got to explore everything before specializing in the BME (Biomedical Systems Engineering) major.

In terms of academics, I did the AP program for core science, math, and English. It was hard transitioning to EngSci. Because of online school, I hadn’t written an in-person exam for three years. Academics is really different, because in high school, the goal is to know everything, but in EngSci, you have to accept not knowing everything when going into tests. Your grades will drop numerically, but you learn a lot more, because the EngSci curriculum is unique and you see connections between courses. You see linear algebra in programming courses, and you use MATLAB in CIV (civil engineering) courses.

In terms of my living situation, I used to live at home with my parents, which was easy. In first year, I rented with my brother, who is also in EngSci. It is a big adjustment living away from parents, because nobody is telling you to do the dishes, to eat, or to go outside. It is empowering, but you must be responsible for yourself. One nice thing was that I lived in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), so I could go home whenever I wanted to. However, I didn’t do this much because I was busy.

In terms of social life, I was used to small classes of around 30, so I sort of knew everyone. EngSci is a close-knit community, but you won’t know everyone in the program. You could choose to be the person sitting at the back, but you can also get involved and meet a lot of people.

Transitioning from high school, looking at past exams and learning test taking skills can help you get high marks. Midterms add up to a high percentage of your final mark, so you should invest in them. If you are comfortable in the exam room, that really helps with your marks. Try to understand everything as you go. This isn’t always possible, but if you don’t, try to clear up things as soon as possible, that inhibits you from learning concepts later in the course. You also can’t ask professors if you’re cramming at the very last moment. Use online forums, because people ask great questions there, and you can also answer them to test your knowledge.

I made most of my friends from F!rosh. Everyone is a new environment and you get to meet cool people. Outside of that, you can connect with people you sit with in lectures, join extracurriculars, or simply reach out to people.

I am part of the Human Powered Vehicles Design Team (HPVDT). It is good for first-years because they do a breadth of projects. Currently they are focused on developing human-powered aircraft. They accept everyone without a rigorous application process and you can commit as much as you want. I learned a lot of technical skills, such as building and using SolidWorks. You don’t learn everything in school; you apply and learn different skills outside of that. However, I would caution people against overcommitting. First-year EngSci is a big change, and you shouldn’t feel like missing out because you’re not joining as many clubs as you should. Some do a lot, some do none, and it’s about finding what’s a good balance for you. Outside of Engineering, I also enjoy running.

My favourite course is CIV102. It was the most challenging course, and it took the most time. However, seeing the professors and teaching team put in their effort, it also motivates me, and it feel great to be in an environment where they want me to succeed. Even though I won’t go into civil engineering, I like how it’s all focused on applications – look at the buildings around you – and there are weekly problem sets and quizzes which are helpful to make sure you are always on track.

Another of my favourite courses is MAT185. They give you trivial questions computationally, which is good because I am bad at mental math. It is a proof-based course, and when you have an answer you know is right, it is fun to be able to show why, and have it be indisputable. Linear algebra also has lots of applications, which we went over in the course.

Sleep more! It makes everything better for you, not just in school, but it makes waking up and talking to people nice. Now, I don’t care if I got a slightly lower mark in a CIV quiz because I slept for an extra hour! Don’t get too caught up in the moment. You don’t need to go all out in first year. If you feel caught up, give yourself a break before things get worse. EngSci will be really fun, and maybe you’ll see me in the Common Room!

Hi, I’m Andrew Magnuson, an incoming third-year EngSci Student.

As a person interested in AI, it was honestly a tough choice between this and a computer science program. I ended up choosing Engineering Science because I wanted to get more experience with the many engineering applications my later ML [machine learning] work might be applied to, while still getting a close focus on AI through the Machine Intelligence option. I also figured that, since a lot of my previous AI learning has been through online sources, that I could similarly bolster my knowledge on the side during the first two years.

I’d say my social life is pretty ok?! Having free time has become much more of a deliberate effort, though. After many, many years of my school struggling to get me to use a scheduling app, it seems uni has finally made it necessary. I find that scheduling time where I work on weekly or biweekly assignments, while also scheduling time to meet with friends or chat after classes helps keep everything organized and removes some stress from the massive workload. It’s also useful to plan to get stuff done early. I say this not because I’m an early bird, but because not doing so has very bad consequences down the line (plus, I can use it to get ahead on the courses I enjoy most).

I learned a lot about how to manage a team. Most of my previous programming work has been in relative isolation – I’d spent time making personal projects, small websites, AI datasets and implementations, but had never had to communicate these ideas with others during the development process. I had also never had to manage the tasks and roles of multiple people working on a singular goal. There were many new questions I had to tackle: how to split up work, how to remove conflicts in code, or how to ensure the focus of the project was in the right directions. As a Director, I had to work on all this, and found that many concepts from Praxis came about when looking for solutions to these problems.

Fun! My team is fantastic, and we really elevated the software beyond anything I could’ve made on my own. We came up with countless interesting ideas – UI solutions, modifications to the original evolutionary algorithm, unique solutions for the architecture of the model, new papers in the field to read… it was good fun. We also booked weekly meetings in Gerstein (a U of T library) where we could work together in person on problems, which helped us feel more tightly knit as a group.

Definitely try to get involved! In my first year I unfortunately didn’t join any, and really regretted that as I went into second year. Clubs open up applications over the summer and during early Fall term, so definitely keep an eye out! I’d also recommend reaching out to upper years in the clubs or attending their showcases if at all possible – they’ll often have plenty information on how to get involved or learn more about their work.

I’ll meet up with my high school friends at U of T every once and a while. It’s pretty nice to see the campus from a different perspective; spending all this time in the Engineering section of U of T oftentimes has you forget how many other buildings there are on campus. I especially love when I get the opportunity to visit the Earth Sciences building – the greenhouse is beautiful!

Despite the brutal exam, I really enjoyed ECE253 [Digital and Computer Systems]! The weekly labs were a fantastic way to get hands– on experience with the topics we were learning – as we learned about logical gates and latches, we also implemented them on an FPGA with physical switches and 7 segment displays. The course does a great job of laying out the material in a clear and sequential manner, though I found my success in the course was mostly due to my interest and experimentation with the material. Toying around with both SystemVerilog and Assembly in order to make various projects gave me the creative boost I needed during second –year, while also allowing me to refine and expand my skills in both languages. For example, when I did some work recreating a 2A03 chip in SystemVerilog, I learned tons more about how to do various frequencies of clocks as well as send variable voltage signals out of the FPGA to a speaker.

I think the course I’ve had the most challenging relationship with is Praxis. As a first-year design course, it presents a large chunk of terminology and concepts that do not have much anchoring in your previous knowledge. What this means is it’s hard to elucidate exactly what is missing in your understanding of concepts. You may think you understand a term just fine, then use it in a midterm or tutorial and find that your understanding was slightly off. Over the various iterations of the course throughout EngSci, I found the most effective strategy to overcome this was speaking to the TAs or professors. They are often very willing to help explain concepts, and you have the opportunity to ask example questions or review work with an expert in the domain.

You can look online to see if there are any professors who are hiring students. I simply looked up cool people I wanted to work with. What I have found to work best for me is cold emailing profs. I looked through Vector Institute members and their webpages, and figured out what I wanted to apply for. I initially had a long list of people I wanted to work with and had to take some time to condense my list. It’s important to find people you want to work with and that their work interests you.

Once I had this list, I started emailing professors – it’s always good to start early, around December or January. Use well-crafted cover letters. When I looked up “how to make a nice cover email,” I found that there were many templates. One thing I would say is that professors are regular humans too. When emailing them, make sure it’s formal, but also bring in your own personality. First impressions matter! Also, some labs get many emails from EngScis, so be sure to mention things outside of the degree too. Another tip: email graduate students that work there and get to know what they’re doing in the lab and if it interests you.

Have fun!

I chose EngSci because I was unsure what engineering major I wanted to pursue when I was applying for university programs. EngSci offered an opportunity to learn about majors that I found interesting before committing to one.

The transition from high school to university was very different for me than what it will probably look like for you because I had my first year online. For me, the main difference I found was in the workload. I wasn’t used to a six-course workload each semester and learning how to balance the work for each class alongside leaving time for extracurriculars and friends was difficult for me. What mainly helped me in my transition was time management and prioritization of important tasks. At the beginning of school, I tried to do every single practice question and read all the textbooks alongside going to class, which wasn’t feasible for me. I slowly realized that actually taking time to understand the material and listening in lectures worked just as effectively as doing all the extra work I was doing before. It’s important to use first year as a time to understand how you learn best rather than focusing on just your grades. Learning how you learn will become a pivotal skill throughout university and in your future career.

My next tip would be to not struggle alone. If you need help with a subject or a topic ask the people around you, whether it’s friends, TAs, or a professor. You are not alone and you don’t need to struggle alone. There are many people around to help you out whenever you need it!

This year I am the co-president of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) and the co-chair for Skule Patrol during F!rosh week! In the past, I’ve been a part of the conference team for Model UN, UTMIST (University of Toronto Machine Intelligence Student Team), and EngSoc Directorships. During the school year, I usually work a part-time job at the Athletic Centre as well. The way I balance extracurriculars, academics, and my social life is by creating doable schedules for myself. I often plan out my week in advance and make sure to prioritize leaving some time for friends and myself.

One piece of advice I would tell my first-year self is to not compare myself to other students around me. The transition to university looks different for everyone and comparison only adds unnecessary stress. In addition, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so instead of focusing on my weakness, I should’ve been proud of my personal strengths. University provides an opportunity for you to better understand yourself, which is difficult to do if you are constantly comparing yourself to the people around you. Having this advice would’ve helped first-year me focus on myself rather than those around me.

Hatchery is an incubation program offered at U of T that provides you with a space and resources to develop your start-up idea. To join, you have to fill out an application and participate in some interviews either with a team or alone (if you have just an idea and are looking for a team). Throughout the summer, Hatchery provides opportunities to talk to investors and business professionals to build a business model while you are working on your start-up. In the end, your team presents your pitch, and a select number of start-ups are chosen to be funded during the year. I participated in the program after my second year with other EngScis to work on an idea that I found interesting. I was also looking for an opportunity to develop my coding skills, which the start-up provided for me. Personally, Hatchery provided a unique experience for me to learn about how start-ups are formed and the early stages of their development. If you have an idea during your time at U of T and want to work on developing it, Hatchery would be a great place to start with it!

Like many other students I chose EngSci because I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to study. Coming out of high school, I barely knew what engineering actually meant. I wanted the opportunity to meet people with somewhat different interests and career paths while also keeping multiple doors open for me to explore, and EngSci let me do that!

The transition from high school to university is truly different for every individual. I was fully remote my first year due to COVID, which definitely provided a different set of challenges.

One thing I struggled with and still struggle with is not tying how much I enjoy something to how well I did. In high school, I liked that I was good at sports, academics, and clubs. In university, I was suddenly surrounded by a larger group of students where a lot of them were also good at those things. Suddenly, I couldn’t be the best at everything and I started disliking things that interested me but I was bad at.

So one tip I would give is to try not let things like grades and results take away from how you felt during the whole experience. A bad test, or even a bad class might happen but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to explore an area if it interests you. While it can feel scary, it’s normal to be bad at things that excite you or good at things that you don’t like. Don’t chase something just because it seems easy right now, find things that you are curious about and excite you.

Currently I’m one of the co-presidents of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) – U of T Chapter, and a member of the competitive dragon boating team at U of T, Iron Dragons. Previously I was a part of Brew of T, Blue Sky Solar Racing, and F!rosh. My strategy for balancing multiple aspects of my life is to regularly reevaluate how I’m spending my time and identify if I’m having regrets about those choices. Most things are trade-offs and everybody has different priorities so I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule about how to balance everything. Sometimes school might take priority and other times your hobbies or social life. If the way you are spending your time reflects what goals you are currently working towards, I think that’s the right balance for you.

Don’t be afraid of change. One piece of advice I would tell myself is to be really curious about the world around you. It’s normal to have plans for how you want your life to go, but you change and oftentimes what you want changes. Be open to new experiences, learn from the people and about the opportunities around you, and oftentimes you find yourself on a totally different path than where you started.

I worked as a software research student at Princess Margaret Hospital for a year after 1st year. Specifically, I worked with consumer-grade neuroimaging devices to build statistical and machine learning models that can collect and classify human brain data. Prior to this experience, I had done a little bit of research in high school but it wasn’t similar. I think if you are looking to get involved with research, don’t be intimidated by cold emailing professors. I went onto U of T’s faculty page and looked for professors that were doing work that interested me and just emailed a few expressing interest to learn more. Especially if you can secure some funding or are looking to do so through programs like ESROP (Engineering Science Research Opportunities Program), it makes it easier for professors to hire you. Sending out those emails was really scary for me at the time, and I felt like I didn’t have any skills to offer. But I’m so glad I did it. I learnt so much from that experience, the professor and team I worked with taught me so much. So definitely if you are interested in research, it’ll likely take a few tries but just reach out to professors and you never know what might happen.

Back in high school, I was really interested in physics. I applied to programs in physics and earth science, and I got into some of them. However, looking up job prospects, I was not super set on them, so I decided to try out EngSci, which was more flexible, and I could decide later.

What did you learn in this role?

The transition from high school to university is truly different for every individual. I was fully remote my first year due to COVID, which definitely provided a different set of challenges.

What was your main role as the Aero Lead?

Unlike last year, where we had to design a new wind turbine, our design this year is based on last year’s design. We were more focused on improving the design and working with other subsystems to resolve the problems we had last year. There were some design components that did not work out, and we also addressed concerns about our own subsystem that were brought forth in the design competition last year.

How did you find the time for design teams?

I think I am luckier this year, because I am doing my PEY instead of being a full-time student. At first, it was manageable, but later my research duties became heavier, and it was difficult to focus on both, so I decided to take some time off the design team. I learned that sometimes I have to prioritize my own mental health and figure out what is more important to me, personally and career-wise, instead of trying different things and doing neither of those well. During the school year, I was more flexible with the time I put into the club, so I was more involved in the beginning of the term, and less so during exams.

Recommendations for incoming first years regarding extracurriculars?

In terms of time management, you should set priorities for different tasks. Not every task is equally important, and sometimes it is equally important to take a break; you don’t have to be working all the time. Sometimes it is beneficial to take time off, so you don’t make mistakes because you are tired. You can often find new perspectives on your work after taking a break and doing something else, which is also true for research. One thing to consider when joining is how much time you spend on these teams. Some require members to come and work during weekends, which is difficult for commuters.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to do physics before joining EngSci. After that, I was interested in similar fields such as aerospace or robotics. On the other hand, even in high school, I was very interested in programming, but I didn’t want to be a software developer, and I didn’t know about machine learning at all. In the summer after second year, I had a research internship focused on hardware, as I was interested in robotics. I got to work on implementing machine learning algorithms on ultra-low power FPGAs. I found that interesting, so I started looking more into that. This was a last-minute decision that took me some time to figure out. Another reason I chose MI was because work was very flexible. I could work anywhere if I had internet access. This fitted into my future plans more than working at a fixed location.

Having been in the same boat before, I think people should take more time to explore their interests. In university, you still have time to explore what you want to do, but it becomes harder to do that when you graduate. Your experiences are all connected. Being an aero lead doesn’t seem to tie into machine learning, but it gave me soft skills such as time management and reading research papers which carry over to other fields as well.

Instead of spending too much time on a single topic, EngSci MI gave me a good overview of what the field is like. Through these introductions, I became interested in certain things which are now my research topic. Another thing I really appreciated was that I got introduced to reading research papers in our courses. It is important because machine learning develops fast, and we must stay on top of things. To reduce time spent reading each research paper while still grasping the main idea is helpful for the work I am doing right now. This takes a lot of practice, so it is good to start early. Something else EngSci taught me is dealing with failures. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to, and this also holds for research. There are a lot of ups and downs, and you don’t always get your paper accepted despite the amount of work you put in.

At first, I spent too much time trying to understand everything in the paper. Papers are usually long, so it takes some time to go through everything. However, this isn’t always worth it. Sometimes, only the higher-level idea is needed, so focus on the abstract and the conclusion. If you want to learn more, start with the figures, which will tell you more about the results. If you want to implement what the paper did, that’s when you read the methods section.

During high school I had more free time outside of class, so I could finish my schoolwork and focus on my interests. Now, I have to put in more time into my academics, and it is no longer easy to understand everything. Outside of lectures, I had to take extra time to review lecture content, which was defeating at first, but it is relatively common, and you should not feel bad about it. That is why it is important to manage your time. It is impossible to do everything on the same day, so it is okay to push some tasks to later.

Explore your interests through extracurriculars and taking electives that extend beyond the scope of your major.