Engineers Without Borders
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be Engineers Without Borders. We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty, and members of the UWaterloo community at large to promote sustainable development, systems thinking, and global equity through engineering practice, interdisciplinary learning, advocacy, and community-driven social impact initiatives. In alignment with Engineers Without Borders Canada, UW EWB works to create systemic change by mobilizing the engineering community and leveraging innovation to address urgent global development challenges in Canada and internationally.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
• Seminars, workshops, conferences, and speaker events related to sustainability, systems change, and global development
• Support for national advocacy campaigns and policy engagement, including meetings with Members of Parliament
• Partnerships between faculty and students to advocate for a socially-conscious and globally-informed engineering profession
• Student participation in international co-op, fellowship, and development opportunities
• Hands-on technical and social impact initiatives such as the Shipping Container Project, Pyroneers, Campus Stormwater Living Lab, WATurbine, and Open Air
• Advocacy initiatives such as Flip the Switch
• Podcasts, outreach, and other interdisciplinary engagement activities consistent with the club’s objectives
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is one academic term, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
The President is a signing authority.
The Secretary/Vice President Internal ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
The Secretary/Vice President Internal is a signing authority.
The Vice President Finance ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
- Budget creation, tracking, reporting, expense approval, sponsorship management, and compliance with university and EWB Canada financial policies are maintained
The Vice President Finance is a signing authority.
The Education Lead ensures that:
- Organizes workshops, speaker sessions, and learning modules
- Develops educational content on global development and systems thinking for high school and primary school students
- Develops educational content on global development and systems thinking for high school and primary school students
- Coordinates case studies and educational collaborations and supports member onboarding and skill development
- Ensures that the next Education Lead is trained.
The Advocacy Lead ensures that:
- Coordinates national campaigns in collaboration with National Office, such as Flip the Switch
- Organizes meetings with Members of Parliament and external stakeholders
- Leads member engagement in advocacy research and systems change initiatives
- Collaborates with EWB Canada’s national advocacy network and develops member education on policy and systems change
- Ensures that the next Advocacy Lead is trained.
The Shipping Container Project Lead ensures that:
- Plans and executes shipments of books and surplus laboratory equipment to Eswatini
- Coordinates logistics, packing, documentation, partner communication, timelines, risks, and deliverables
- Works with university departments and external partners for donations and transport
- Ensures project continuity across yearly iterations
- Ensures that the next Shipping Container Project Lead is trained.
The Events & Outreach Lead ensures that:
- Organizes general member socials, workshops, speaker events, and on-campus engagement activities
- Manages event logistics, room bookings, recruitment, and member engagement strategies
- Ensures accessibility and inclusivity in all events
- Ensures that the next Events & Outreach Lead is trained.
The Podcast Lead ensures that:
- Plans podcast themes and episode schedules
- Coordinates guests, records, edits, publishes, and promotes podcast episodes
- Collaborates with advocacy and education teams for content alignment
- Ensures that the next Podcast Lead is trained.
The Social Media Lead ensures that:
- Collaborates with advocacy and education teams for content alignment
- Creates promotional content for events, campaigns, and initiatives
- Highlights chapter projects and member contributions while maintaining consistent branding
- Works closely with Events & Outreach and Advocacy teams
- Ensures that the next Social Media Lead is trained.
The Website Lead ensures that:
- Designs, updates, and maintains the UW EWB website
- Ensures accurate and up-to-date information on initiatives and events
- Supports accessibility, usability, visual design improvements, and long-term digital infrastructure
- Coordinates with the Social Media Lead for content alignment
- Ensures that the next Website Lead is trained.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Project Teams and Directors ensures that:
- Project teams and Directors shall support executive operations and report to the President or the executive portfolio they support
- Project teams may include WATurbine, Open Air, Pyroneers, and Campus Stormwater Living Lab
- Project Leads are responsible for technical execution, team coordination, and regular project updates
- Directors may be appointed by the Executive Committee as needed to support chapter operations and continuity
- Ensures that the next Project Teams and Directors is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold termly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
- email and chapter social media platforms
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
- email and chapter social media platforms
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
No organization(s) is/are currently affiliated with this club.