Funding Opportunities

The Professional Activities Fund (PAF) exists to enhance professional development activities in the engineering undergraduate program at UBC Vancouver. It is designed to support co-curricular activities and projects that lie outside of, yet are complementary to, the engineering curriculum. PAF is co-chaired by the APSC Dean and the EUS President. All PAF funded activities must be in support of this mandate.

PAF Website

1. Allocating body: The Department
2. Other departmental funding, MECH department, CIVL department, ECE department etc. To find out more about the availability and requirement for your host or other departmental funding opportunities, reach out to their undergraduate offices.
3. External Industry Sponsorship: Each individual team is responsible for seeking out external sponsorship opportunities for their team. Either monetary, material, mentorship or in-kind donations.

While applying for the Super Application, student groups are asked to fill up a departmental funding/support request form.

1. Allocating body: EUS
2. Contact: eus.ubc.president@gmail.com
3. Application requirements: The proposed project must provide design teams with improved facilities/capital, benefit multiple design teams, and be beneficial for more than one year.
4. The fund policies and rubric can be found on the EUS website.
5. Application Process:
   1. Students from multiple design teams agree on a funding request
   2. One student fills out the application
   3. The fund request is voted on at the next EUS executive meeting
6. Fund Applications: 2014 -2018

1. Allocating body: UBC Vice-Presidents Student Office
2. Website: Walter Gage | Vice-President, Students
3. Contact: vpassist@mail.ubc.ca
4. Application Requirements: Application must be made by a student. It is an ongoing monthly application, but submit the application 4 weeks before it is needed. Submit the form along with a checklist of items in person or by email to the contact on the form.
5. Criteria: Must support individual or group projects that interest students and enhance the reputation of UBC. Other funding sources should be secured before applying. Up to $2,000 per project. Will not fund trips/travel.

1. Allocating body: AMS
2. Website: Clubs and Constituency Funds | AMS of UBC
3. Contact: AMS Funds and Grants administrator – fundsandgrants@ams.ubc.ca
4. Requirements: A detailed budget should be submitted and only one application per project will be approved per academic year. Apply at least 3 weeks before needed! The phrase “Project must NOT be affiliated with any UBC club or subsidiary.” means the project cannot be affiliated with an AMS registered club, constituency (such as EUS), or AMS Resource Group. As long as the design team isn't directly affiliated with the three aforementioned groups, they are eligible for SIF funding. 
5. Criteria: Up to $1,000/project, less than 75% the cost of the project, following a funding rubric.

E-IDEAS (EDI Affinity) groups are eligible to apply for the E-IDEAS Fund allocated by UBC Applied Science.

There is also a funding toolkit available that caters specifically to E-IDEAS initiatives.

There are other available sources of funding, including but not limited to:

• Innovative Projects Funds managed by the AMS
• Sustainability Projects Fund also managed by AMS
• Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund by UBC
• Indigenous Strategic Plan by UBC
• Community Grants by UBC

but those are not included as they do not immediately fall under the purview of student teams funding. But, if you can justify how your projects fall under these, then feel free to apply to them or any others that you are able to find.

For questions regarding student team sponsorship and how to contact and relate with sponsors, reach out to the APSC Development Coordinator (team.sponsorship@apsc.ubc.ca). They can provide professional guidance to the design teams and is an excellent resource.

1. Allocating body: EGBC
2. Website: Student Team Funding | EGBC
3. Contact: Andrea Michaud amichaud@egbc.ca
4. Requirement: at least one student must be an APEG-BC student member. Funding available for both fall and spring terms.
5. Criteria Q & A
   1. What is the maximum funding cap per project/group?
      No maximum, but we usually give teams around $750. If teams request less it’s unlikely we will give more. However, requesting a smaller amount is more likely to be successful.
   2. How many team/groups in total will be funding per year? And are there limitations from institutions?We don’t have a team maximum but rather a dollar maximum. Last year in 2016 we funded 21 teams. We don’t have limitations from institutions, but we strive for diversity in the schools and programs we fund.
   3. Are there restrictions to use, like having to apply it towards project only and no travel?No restrictions, but we do take into account what the requested funding will be used for. Teams are more likely to get funding if they plan to put the money towards something specific.
   4. Will a detailed budget of entire team plans be required or is a summary of where specifically the provided fund will go towards be sufficient?Detailed budget is not required but more information is better than less. For example, “motor costs: $500; tires: $90” is sufficient, I don’t need to see things like “4 AA batteries: $2.50.” However, this information should be available in case we ask. The most helpful thing is a well laid out spreadsheet.
   5. How does claiming of the fund work?We send cheques to the design team c/o the school. Usually UBC is pretty good at this (sometimes via the Development Office, APSC Finance Department, Department of Mechanical Engineering…). I think cheques usually get where they’re supposed to go, but feel free to advise your teams if there are specific instructions for the cheque that they can include on their application. We cannot send cheques to individual students or send them to residential addresses.
   6. Is there a requirement to submit a final report or summary of the project after the funding has been approved and used?Not required but photos or follow up are appreciated (this may be factored in next time the team applies for funding, so keeping a good relationship is appreciated).

There are other available sources of funding, including but not limited to:

• Special Grants - IEEE Canadian Foundation
• Social Investment - Shell
• Sponsorships and Community Investments - Air Canada
• Community Giving - BC Hydro
• Making a Difference Through Innovation - Lenovo Foundation

but those are not included as they do not immediately fall under the purview of student teams funding. But, if you can justify how your projects fall under these, then feel free to apply to them or any others that you are able to find.

For questions regarding student team sponsorship and how to contact and relate with sponsors, reach out to the APSC Development Coordinator (team.sponsorship@apsc.ubc.ca). They can provide professional guidance to the design teams and is an excellent resource.