 ¿QUÉ ES SYSTEM DESIGN ENGINEER?

Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) is a unique program that originated at the

University of Waterloo over 30 years ago, with the intention of teaching students
methods for designing virtually anything.

A system is an interacting combination of people, materials, tools, machines, software,

facilities, and procedures designed to work together for some common purpose. Our
students learn to employ a systems approach to design, looking at a given system as a
whole before attempting to solve the problem, and seeing how small changes can have
much bigger impacts.

In our program, there is a core concentration on methods of modelling, analyzing, and

designing systems of all sorts. As well, upper-year students often concentrate on one
of four main areas of study:

 Human Systems Engineering

 Intelligent Systems Engineering
 Societal and Environmental Systems
 Systems Modelling and Analysis

Another unique aspect of our program is the exposure to hands-on design projects,
which begins in the first term of study. The ability to work as an effective member of a
design team is central to the systems approach. Through such experience, SYDE
students simultaneously develop their collaborative and management skills along with
problem-solving and engineering skills.

 MÁS SOBRE SYSTEMS DESIGN ENGINEERING

The Department of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo is the
only one of its kind in Canada. Since its start in 1969, the department has developed a
unique interdisciplinary undergraduate program and also boasts leading edge research
in emerging areas, such as bioengineering.

The undergraduate curriculum spans topics needed by a problem solving, design

oriented engineer. We offer a well balanced program, designed to enable students to
find optimum solutions to multi-faceted complex problems. It covers technical,
environmental, socioeconomic and political aspects of the engineering process using
systems design methodology.

The Department of Systems Design Engineering consists of:

31 full-time faculty members

1 faculty member jointly appointed to the Department of Philosophy
Home of the Centre for Society, Technology and Values (CSTV), which has two full-time
faculty members
8 administrative office staff
6 technical staff
enrolls 100 undergraduate students each year
currently has 492 undergraduates either on campus or on work terms
115 graduate students (MASc and PhD)
thousands of alumni worldwide
Mission Statement
Our primary mission is to provide our students with the best possible education to
enable them to become wise and knowledgeable leaders. It is our objective to furnish
our students with a solid engineering education that will equip them to think clearly,
logically, and originally when they create solutions to challenging interdisciplinary
problems.

 DEPARTMENT HISTORY

In 1964, stemming from an initiative of Professor George Soulis, a professor in the Department
of Design, the University of Waterloo became one of the first North American universities to
teach engineering design to undergraduate students. At that time engineering design
instruction was primarily a graduate level area of study and, indeed, the Department of Design
offered only graduate degrees, the MASc (from 1965) and the PhD (from 1967). The
undergraduate engineering design course, GE 11, was taught for the first time in 1964 to all
first-year engineering students at the University of Waterloo. The Department of Design
initially focused of two major areas of study: architecture and industrial design, both from an
engineering perspective.

While the Department of Design originally offered only graduate degrees it added an
undergraduate program in Architecture in 1967. A year later the Architecture program was
moved to the, then, newly created Faculty of Environmental Studies. A result of this move was
the creation of (by Engineering Faculty Council on November 27, 1968) the Department of
Systems Design Engineering. The three founding faculty members were Professors George
Soulis, Peter Roe, and H.K. Kesavan. Interestingly, the financial foundation for the creation of
the new department came from money earned by a team of University of Waterloo
engineering faculty members for design work done for the organizational committee for the
famous Expo ’67. The remarkable team of designers included Professors Soulis, and Roe, as
well as Professors Kish Hahn, and Barry Wills; all of whom became long-time faculty members
of the Department of Systems Design Engineering. The newly created department admitted its
first undergraduate students in September of 1969. The Department of Design ceased to exist
but the Department of Systems Design Engineering is still going strong, more than 39 years
after its creation.

Over the years, the undergraduate core curriculum for Systems Design Engineering has been
reduced from 8 courses to 5 courses per term. This was done, in part, to allow students the
time to engage in extra-curricular activities that would expand their scope of experience to
facilitate their intellectual and personal growth. Many Systems Design Engineering students
graduate with dual degrees; one in engineering and the other, most often, in arts.
The common characteristics of the first graduating Systems Design Engineering class which
remain true today are that the students are open-minded and creative risk-takers. It is these
characteristics that inspire the graduates to indulge in their passions – whether it is developing
new gaming software, managing an automotive engineering project, designing their own
consulting companies, or studying marine biological engineering!

 COMPARACIONES:
How does it compare to mechatronics engineering?
In systems design engineering, the focus in the early semesters is on building up a base
of general engineering knowledge, as well as knowledge and experience with design
methodology that can be applied broadly. Students can then take technical electives
and work on advanced design projects in areas that are of particular interest to them,
such as mechatronics, intelligent systems, human-computer interaction, systems
modelling, and alternative energy.

In contrast, the mechatronics engineering program focuses specifically on the design

of effective mechatronic systems that combine mechanical, electronic, computer, and
software concepts, such as robotics, vehicular systems, and “smart” devices.

For students interested in both the broad application of design and mechatronic
systems, the best approach may be to combine the Systems Design program with a
Mechatronics Option.

How does it compare to computer, systems, and software engineering?

Programs in computer engineering and systems engineering focus almost exclusively
on computing systems (hardware/software), while Systems Design covers a much
wider variety of systems that may or may not include computing systems. Similarly,
Waterloo’s software engineering program focuses almost exclusively on software
development.

Many systems design students find themselves in software-oriented (programming)

type jobs, especially during early work terms. However, our students are not bound to
follow an exclusively computer or software-oriented path.

Students take approximately one computer-based course per term for the first two
years of study, after which they may choose to take electives that are related to
computers and software, or concentrate on areas such as human-ergonomic and
societal-environmental systems. Senior design projects cover a wide range of
applications, environmental systems modeling, conflict analysis, pattern recognition,
intelligent systems, human-computer interaction, and biomechanics.

How does it compare to management and industrial engineering?

Industrial engineering traditionally focuses on the application of engineering methods
for the improvement of manufacturing and industry-related processes, but has
broadened to include other work-related domains such as health care and information
 management. This is the focus of Waterloo’s management engineering program,
which is offered by our Department of Management Sciences.

Systems design engineering includes many industrial engineering methods as part of

its core curriculum, such as scheduling and optimization, human factors and
ergonomics, information management, and project management, which are applied in
students’ first-year team design projects. However, our students also learn the basics
of the mechanical, electrical, computing, civil, and software engineering disciplines,
which enables them to determine where they focus their studies in upper years.

 PLAN DE ESTUDIOS:

Systems Design Engineering Undergraduate Core and Suggested Elective Curriculum (Listed by
Terms)

The Systems Design undergraduate program consists of two course groupings:

Compulsory core courses within the program that prepare the student for practice in
engineering and comprise 70 to 80 percent of the course load.

Elective courses that comprise 20 to 30 percent of the course load.

A minimum of four complementary studies elective courses (CSEs) must be completed, in

addition to the two complementary courses in the core program (SYDE 261 and SYDE 262), in
subjects that complement the engineering curriculum (See the Complementary Studies
Electives section below). A minimum of six technical elective courses must be completed in a
particular technical discipline or disciplines appropriate to a student’s interests. (See the
Technical Elective Packages section below). Your course selections must meet CEAB
requirements, including a minimum number of instruction hours in the various CEAB
categories.

What follows is the current core course curriculum for Systems Design students entering 1A
Fall 2011 and beyond, with the course weight shown in square brackets [ ] next to each course.
For those students who began the program in 2010 or earlier, please consult the 2010-2011
calendar. Students should contact the Systems Design Undergraduate Office for more details
on the transition.

1A (Fall)

SYDE 101 [0.25] Introduction to Systems Design Engineering

SYDE 101L [0.25] Graphics Laboratory

SYDE 111 [0.50] Fundamental Engineering Math 1

SYDE 113 [0.25] Matrices and Linear Systems

SYDE 121 [0.50] Digital Computation

SYDE 161 [0.50] Introduction to Design

SYDE 181 [0.50] Physics 1 (Statics)

1B (Spring)

SYDE 102 Seminar

SYDE 112 [0.50] Fundamental Engineering Math 2

SYDE 114 [0.25] Numerical and Applied Calculus

SYDE 162 [0.50] Human Factors in Design

SYDE 182 [0.50] Physics 2 (Dynamics)

SYDE 192 [0.50] Digital Systems

SYDE 192L [0.25] Digital Systems Laboratory

One Complementary Studies Elective

2A (Winter)

SYDE 201 Seminar

SYDE 211 [0.50] Advanced Engineering Math 1

SYDE 223 [0.50] Data Structures and Algorithms

SYDE 261 [0.50] Design, Systems, and Society

SYDE 283 [0.50] Physics 3 (Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics)

SYDE 285 [0.50] Materials Chemistry

2B (Fall)

SYDE 202 Seminar

SYDE 212 [0.50] Probability and Statistics

SYDE 252 [0.50] Linear Systems and Signals

SYDE 262 [0.50] Engineering Economics of Design

SYDE 286 [0.50] Mechanics of Deformable Solids

SYDE 292 [0.50] Circuits, Instrumentation, and Measurements

SYDE 292L [0.25] Circuits, Instrumentation, and Measurements Laboratory

One Complementary Studies Elective

WKRPT 200 [0.13] Work-term Report

3A (Spring)

SYDE 301 Seminar

SYDE 311 [0.50] Advanced Engineering Math 2

SYDE 351 [0.50] Systems Models 1

SYDE 361 [0.50] Engineering Design

SYDE 381 [0.50] Thermodynamics

SYDE 383 [0.50] Fluid Mechanics

WKRPT 300 [0.13] Work-term Report

3B (Winter)

SYDE 302 Seminar

SYDE 312 [0.50] Applied Linear Algebra

SYDE 352 [0.50] Introduction to Control Systems

SYDE 352L [0.25] Control Systems Laboratory

SYDE 362 [.50] Systems Design Workshop 1

One Technical Elective

One Complementary Studies Elective

4A (Fall)

SYDE 401 Seminar

SYDE 411 [0.50] Optimization and Numerical Methods

SYDE 461 [0.50] Systems Design Workshop 2

Two Technical Electives

One Technical or Complementary Studies Elective

WKRPT 400 [0.13] Work-term Report

4B (Winter)

SYDE 402 Seminar

SYDE 462 [0.50] Systems Design Workshop 3

Three Technical Electives

One Complementary Studies Elective

 CAMPO DE ACCIÓN:
Our graduates choose a diverse range of career paths. Many pursue business,
medicine, law, or the high-tech life. Whatever path is chosen, the systems design
engineering undergraduate program provides a solid technical background necessary
to succeed. A growing number of graduates start their own business [learn more about
alumni entrepreneurs].

Since a variety of options are offered to students in their upper years, they have the
opportunity to explore many different fields. As a result, some graduates find
themselves pursuing a career in a field they hadn't planned to be in, while others
continue down the path chosen on day one.

Examples of Graduate Jobs

The following is just a sample of current jobs held by our graduates from the
undergraduate program.

Nexl Network Systems, Peabody, MA

Project Manager. Nexl Systems is one of the fastest growing Information Technology
Solution Providers in the US.

Deloitte, Touche and Tohmatsu

Consultant in corporate responsibility and sustainability service. This company
provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and tax services to
selected clients

Desire to Learn, Kitchener, Ontario

Started the company while still in university. Recently placed 12th in the Deloitte Fast
50 Award which recognized the fastest growing companies in Canada over a five-year
growth period.

Freelance Consultant
In the Informaiton services area - a mixture of development, program management
and design.

Rubbermaid Canada, Mississauga, Ontario

Director of Operations, is responsible for all Canadian manufacturing and company-
owned distribution operations.

Alco Ventures, Langley, BC.

Operations Manager for an international manufacturing firm.

Heartwood Studios, San Francisco Bay Area Headquarters

Chief Operating Officer. This studio is a leading 3D animation and visual effects studio
that provides digital storytelling. Heartwood received the 2007 San Francisco East Bay
Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the new media category, placed 13th in the list of
the "50 Fastest Growing Private Companies" in the East Bay Business Times and
received 2007 Recognition from California State assemblyman as one of the finest
entrepreneurial companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

National Instruments, Austin, Texas

Digital Hardware Designer Engineer, design a PCI computer board for digital I/O

Ericsson Research Canada, Montreal, Quebec

Vice President of a Product Development Unit, responsible for the development of
several products in their CDMA-standardized (Code Division Multiple Access) wireless
systems solution. CDMA is a cellular telephony standard for which Ericsson Research
Canada builds products to run CDMA based cellular networks.
American Express, Markham, Ontario
Manager of Commercial Card Product Development team, this team manages the full
end-to-end product development cycle from business concept to development to
launch to market success.

Siemens, Boca Raton, Florida

Product Line Management, responsible for defining requirements for upcoming
versions of our Element Management Systems, answering customer RFPs, generating
marketing and inside sales materials, customer presentations

Trillium Teamolgies, Detroit, Michigan

Tasks are to consult with DaimlerChrysler with their 'Automatic Product Identification
and Controls' group where I currently am heading a 7-person team migrating vehicle
tracking from automation devices on the plant floor to the plant centralized workcells.
Other tasks are field engineering for upcoming installations and maintaining many
Information Systems for manufacturing systems at all DaimlerChrysler North America
plants.

Inco Limited, Sudbury, Ontario

I'm the project manager for the nickel and copper refineries. I manage capital and
operating projects.

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board

Grade 6 Elementary school teacher, promotes technology by organizing school science
fair; active member of the organizational teams for the city of Barrie Science Fair and
the Simcoe County Science Fair

Imaging Research, Inc., St. Catharines, Ontario

Programmer for image analysis software to be used by life sciences and
pharmaceutical companies. Duties of programming included writing code, testing and
debugging, and writing documentation

Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Ontario

Managing and directing a multi-disciplinary team working on user-interface design and
product development.

The World Bank, New York, New York

Consultant in the area of gender and development; engages in work and analysis on
environmental issues in developing countries.

McKinsey & Company, Toronto, Ontario

Business Analyst: framing business problems and creating and using methods of
analysis to evaluate strategic options to address problems (creating financial models,
conducting informational interviews, mg client meetings, preparing communications
and orals, team problem solving).

Connor Clark & Lunn Financial Group

Design and develop computer systems and is a co-technical lead on most of their
major projects

Phoenix S&T Inc. Maryland

Engineering co-ordinator responsible for product development and testing efforts

Motorola Canada
Director of Product Management for cellular phone business. Responsibilities include
end-to-end management of product portfolio in Canada.

Professor, Ryerson University

She teach ergonomics and safety courses in the School of Occupational and Public
Health. Research would broadly be characterized as macroergonomics. With student
research assistants, she is studying inspection and investigation in the amusement ride
sector, building a database of ergonomic-CAD renderings of common accident
scenarios for future research, doing health and safety surveys of working students, and
researching the cognitive style/temperament of safety specialists, and statistical
analysis of the health of deaf Canadians and will look at OHS implications of deaf
workers

Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

Masters student - Science in Environmental Management

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Ph.D. student - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research in the area of secure/survivable distributed storage systems

University of Waterloo
Assistant Professor in Philosophy, cross appointed to Systems Design Engineering
Involved in teaching and research in neurobiological systems

Sandvine Inc., Waterloo, ON

Design and write software for communications equipment.
Project leader for a piece of equipment, responsible for estimating schedules, deciding
which features the product should have, designing the system and helping implement
it.

Honeywell - Airframe Systems division, Toronto, Ontario

Coordinate the design of Environmental Control Systems for military aircrafts

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA

Design and conduct research program to study optical variability in the ocean, based
on satellite ocean colour data and in situ optical measurements; write proposals to
raise funding for the research program, publish papers, and attend scientific meetings
and workshops.

Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario

 Research Physicist; combining state-of-the-art virtual reality with functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI); Develops neuropsychological experiments to be performed
in virtual environments. Other tasks include the analysis of brain activation and the
design of MR-compatible input/output devices.

 DATOS IMPORTANTES:
1. 200 electives = lots of choice

Systems Design is Waterloo’s most flexible engineering program — you can choose
from 200 different electives.

2. Add international experience

Grab your passport and take advantage of Canada’s biggest engineering exchange
program, with 81 opportunities in 30 countries.

http://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/page/ENG-Systems-Design-
Engineering

http://www.ucalendar.uwaterloo.ca/1617/COURSE/course-SYDE.html#SYDE101