SYDE 263Engineering Prototyping

Units: 0.25
Faculty: Engineering
Subject: Systems Design Engineering

When it runs

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course addresses the practical aspects of design and technical communication. By using a series of workshops culminating in a comprehensive final project, students gain the hands-on experience necessary for prototyping and design validation. Topics include generating technical specifications, material selection, fastener basics, motor selection, electronic switching, reading data sheets and schematics, and advanced microcontroller implementation.

Prerequisites

Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 2A or higher
- Enrolled in H-Systems Design Engineering

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
Section	Class	Enrolled	Meets
LEC 001	4931	0 / 110	M 16:00–16:50
LEC 701	1994	106 / 9999	Online or by arrangement
LAB 101	4932	0 / 28	M 08:30–11:20
LAB 102	4943	0 / 28	W 13:30–16:20
LAB 103	4944	0 / 28	W 08:30–11:20
LAB 104	4945	0 / 28	F 08:30–11:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

96% liked it79% easy82% useful

From 24 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

Pass or fail so you can screw up labs (just get above 50%). Very fun course.

Sep 2024 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this
It's a course that acts as a break from other stuff. Its grading is pass or fail and you basically are guaranteed to pass if you just do the labs and projects they ask for. You do not even have to do it well, they will pass you with any kind of effort. Some of the labs are tedious, but the final project was really fun to do when it actually worked (Built a crane to pick up a golf ball and put it on a pop can).

Apr 2022 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

3 posts and comments in 2 threads mention SYDE 263, November 2020 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2023

Mar 26, 2023 is SYDE useless? 0 points, 16 comments

“I’m a grade 12 student who applied to SYDE but I am now having second thoughts between syde and comp eng. …”

u/intwhale: “what syde courses can you take as electives in ece?”

u/ExtensionBus5737: “From my understanding, it appears that the courses that make SYDE SYDE are: SYDE 162, 261, 263, 262 and the capstone projects in year 4. ECE has similarly described courses for most except 262. It also appears that ece has engineering projects in year 4”

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Fall 2020

Nov 15, 2020 Admissions / High School Megathread (Fall 2020) 316 points, 7,386 comments

“I think we lost track of the old one somewhere, and this is to also help reset the expiry date (these threads archive after six months) Engineering Admissions Blog: https://theroadtoengineering.com/ …”

u/Master_Parsley: “For SYDE students who have taken the more hands-on courses (involving circuits, hardware, prototyping, etc.), what did you think of these courses? …”

u/Master_Parsley: “… I expected more courses (like SYDE 263 and SYDE 352/352L) to be very hardware-oriented since they involve prototyping and control systems, respectively. …”

u/JunChang1122: “SYDE 263 is a new course so there isn't too much information/knowledge about it yet - it will most likely be a bit hardware focused based on the course description.”