Frequently Asked Questions

The Engineering Endowment Fund Advisory Committee EEFAC is made up of students, professors, support staff and alumni. We typically meet once a year to review applications. The busiest season is in the fall when applications are reviewed. The EEFAC is a standing committee of the Engineering Faculty Council and recommends policy, and guidelines for the management of the EEF.

The Engineering Endowment Fund (EEF) is comprised of money donated by students, staff and alumni and the interest that money generates. The money is professionally managed. The EEF is designed to support the pursuit of excellence in education, research and public service in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. The money generated from interest on donations from staff, alumni, students and industry is used to support activities and projects such as enhancement of instructional and research facilities, the encouragement of innovative student and staff activities, visits by guest speakers and researchers, scholarships, staff self-improvement courses, special library acquisitions and outreach presentations. Generally these are projects and activities that fall outside the normal funding limits to the Faculty of Engineering or that may require additional funding to make them successful. Ideally a project will provide a benefit to large number of students or have a lasting legacy.

A call for proposals is sent out each year through the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Engineering. Staff, students, alumni or those interested in furthering education and research in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba may apply.

Apply by accessing the EEFAC internet page HYPERLINK "http://endowment.ee.umanitoba.ca" http://endowment.ee.umanitoba.ca You will be asked for some information and will apply for a userid and password. Your eligibility will be checked and in a few days you can begin your application. All applications are entered (and reviewed) on-line. You will receive notice of your eligibility by e-mail.

Once you have your userid approved then you access the web page, enter you id and password and start your application. Be sure to fill in everything on the form. There are sample forms provided to assist you. Please follow the suggested format, as we usually have many applications to review and a standard format lets us spend more time considering the merits of your application and less time hunting for information. It is especially important to clearly fill in the budget information, details on what you want the money for and whenever possible outside sources of funds are needed. Once you are finished, submit the application. The committee secretary or chair will contact you via e-mail to suggest any changes or ask for information so be sure to check your e-mail around competition time. Typically it takes a few weeks to a month after the closing date of applications to review and meet to discuss them.

Sometimes the EEFAC requests applicants make a brief (less than five minute) presentation to clarify their proposal or if the proposal asks for a large amount of money. We try to avoid this because it makes long meeting longer (typically a review meeting will last four hours) and we encourage applicants to thoroughly fill in their applications.

We have many applications to the EEF every year. Typically the requests for funding exceed the amount of money we have to disburse. This often means that projects will not receive the full funding requested and unfortunately some can not be supported. If your application is successful you will be notified by letter stating conditions of approval, if any, and how to access the money. If regretfully we cannot support your project, you will be informed by letter also.

The EEFAC considers all applications but we ask that the on-line submission form be used and that all areas be filled in clearly and concisely. Grammar and spelling count in the consideration of the applications. W00014 (the application number for that year, auto generated)

The EEFAC considers all projects but over years has developed some internal rules and guidelines to make sure the EEF money is well and fairly spent. We have a standing policy of not supporting applications for furniture or general construction (e.g. walls). A large number of applications from student groups request computers or computer systems. We consider computers on a rotating basis to ensure that all groups have a chance to apply. This if a group applies and receives a computer in one year. They must wait out the next year before applying again. Peripherals such as printers and scanners have the same policy but are considered separately. We do not provide funds for consumables (paper, ink cartridges, etc.)

Additional funding. We look to see if an effort is being made by groups to obtain funding, especially if your group is a repeat customer. In some cases it is not possible but in most cases additional funding will make your project better and means we can fund more projects with what money we have available. Typically requests outnumber available funds 2 to 1.

We give preference to new or innovative projects over funding the same projects year after year. Generally if a project is coming back every year then it should be funded from department budgets. In the case of student groups this is generally not a factor.