U of T Engineering offers lots of ways for students to get involved outside the classroom. Even before you get to campus, you’ll probably hear a lot about different clubs and design teams that you can join. This raises an important question: how do you actually get involved with them?
First-year students are allowed and encouraged to join design teams! You usually don’t need any prerequisite knowledge or skills to join because you’ll be taught by upper years. Design teams connect students from various engineering disciplines and years, and they even run specific recruitment initiatives to engage first-year students.
The Skule Club Directory divides student clubs into athletic clubs, community involvement clubs, fine arts clubs, hobby clubs, musical clubs, and professional development clubs. You can also find a complete list of affiliated design teams here. While there’s a club for everyone, nobody can be involved in all clubs. It’s important to review your options before selecting which clubs most interest you.
Steps To Join
While different design teams and clubs will have their own recruitment cycles, in general, the steps to getting involved are below.
Before committing to a team, you should explore the available options. There are around 1000 clubs and design teams at U of T and most design teams also have different sub teams (mechanical, electrical, project management, etc.). This means that there’s something for everyone; check out skule.ca for a complete list of clubs affiliated with the Engineering Society.
You can get to know each team or club at the Club Fairs during F!rosh Week. You also get to see exactly what you would get to do in the team/club. Speaking to the team leads in-person at these events is the best way to demonstrate your interest.
As mentioned earlier, first-year students are allowed and even encouraged to join design teams and clubs. However, you shouldn’t feel pressured to do so right away. Given the demanding schedule of EngSci, you might be wondering whether you’ll have enough time outside of school to engage in extracurriculars. That’s a valid concern, but at the same time, you should know that many EngScis before you have managed to excel in academics while also dedicating time to design teams, clubs, and personal projects they’re passionate about. We encourage you to ask upper-year students for advice. They will not only inspire you to pursue your own passion projects, but also share time management and learning tips.
Some of you may have a clear career goal and know which design teams to join for experience. If you want to dive right in, go for it! Or you might be exploring career options and prefer to focus on academics at the beginning of your first year. If you find yourself in the latter group, rest assured that design teams and clubs at U of T recruit students regularly, typically at the start of each term (fall, winter, sometimes summer). So, if you prefer to settle into university life and EngSci during your first year, you can join these teams at any point throughout your journey at U of T.
Once you’ve decided which teams/clubs most interest you, follow them on social media (Instagram, LinkedIn) and sign up for their mailing lists. This is usually how teams send important announcements regarding recruitment.
Almost every design team/club will have a general information session, during which the leads will describe the team’s/club’s structure, timeline, sub teams (if applicable), and available opportunities. We recommend attending sessions for multiple teams to strengthen your overall understanding. Once you decide which design team(s)/club(s) most interest you, it’s important to unsubscribe from the mailing lists of other design teams/clubs to minimize emails. Otherwise, the clutter may cause you to miss the information you value!
*Specific to design teams:
Every design team has different sub teams. It’s important that you learn what these options are and pick the one that fits you best. You may choose to join a sub team to learn specific skills (e.g. joining a mechanical one to learn CAD or a software one to learn C++), or you might just see something that looks cool and go with that.
Specific to clubs:
Some clubs, especially those related to music and sports, have limited spaces. You’ll likely have to try out and demonstrate how your abilities make you a great candidate.
Specific to design teams:
Some teams such as aUToronto, UTMIST, and the Computer Vision subteam of UTRA’s Autonomous Rover Team have limited spaces. You’ll likely have to apply by explaining how your prior experiences and interests align with your desired position on the team. You may also need to pass a technical interview. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the position; try a different opportunity and apply again next semester/year with your newfound experience.
Specific to student governing bodies:
If you’d like to hold a position on the Engineering Society (EngSoc) you’ll have to run a campaign and get voted in by the student body. To learn more about the various ways to get involved with EngSoc, visit skule.ca (https://skule.ca/).
Specific to design teams:
Congratulations on making it onto your desired team and sub team! You may need to complete an introductory task to gauge your familiarity with the team’s work. The task may be integrated into one of the early team meetings or be a separate thing altogether. It could range from setting up the correct software environments on your computer to completing a brief design challenge to doing an online course. While this may sound daunting, keep in mind that you’re already on the team, and you’re encouraged to seek support.
The point of this task is ensuring that new members will put in the time and effort to learn the necessary skills – it isn’t meant to test what skills you already have. Do not let the task deter you from staying on a design team!
The only way to gain practical experience through design team or club positions is to put in the effort! Attend every meeting and work session, engage actively in your tasks, complete any assignments on time, and maintain a positive attitude towards your fellow members. Be a team player! Balancing academics with extracurriculars and other responsibilities can be challenging, but with determination and effort, you can manage it.
Design teams seek driven first-year students who bring fresh ideas and a willingness to learn and grow in their roles. As long as you have a genuine interest in your work, you can make the most of these opportunities.
Clubs offer another avenue to become a well-rounded engineer, allowing you to engage in diverse activities and develop skills in ways you might not have imagined. By participating actively, you can expand your horizons and enrich your university experience.
Specific to design teams:
What would design teams be without competitions? If you’re a dedicated team member you might be invited to join competitions in Canada, the U.S., and around the world! Competitions are amazing environments to partake in fast-paced and high-stakes engineering work and network with other universities and potential employers.
Your team/club leads will eventually need someone to take over their position; apply to sub team lead or other positions within your design team/club to grow those highly marketable leadership abilities.
University-wide clubs and teams
U of T has hundreds of clubs outside of Skule™. Joining a non-engineering-related club is a great way to broaden your horizons, meet new people from other faculties, and engage in some unique activities.