Our Story

The ESS is a non-profit organization formed by undergraduate engineering students for undergraduate engineering students. Every engineering student automatically becomes a member of the society and is entitled to the privileges of being a member. The ESS is an umbrella society that governs the smaller departmental engineering clubs and provides aid to the professional and social development of tomorrow’s engineers. 

The ESS offers a variety of services and events. These services include The EnggLink, Engineering Handbook, Peer Assisted Study Sessions, and the sale of various merchandise at the GEER Store (such as engineering paper). Student volunteers and the ESS manage the GEER Store. The major events hosted by ESS every year include Next Level Talks, Engineering Carnival, Headshave, Career Fair, and GEER Week. GEER Week deserves special attention as it is the largest engineering event of the year. It is a week-long series of special events organized and run by the ESS with activities such as Are You Smarter Than A First Year?, Barrel Racing, Debate, Tug-of-War, Battle of the Bands, and the Engineering Ball.

Besides these services and events, the ESS also performs crucial functions for engineering students. The ESS is the link between the students in engineering and the Student’s Union, the Faculty of Engineering, and the University of Alberta itself. It also provides students with a means of inputting feedback to the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

The ESS is run by an Executive team and a Board of Directors (BoD). The student body elects the ESS Executives every March, and BoD consists of these representatives plus the ten discipline club presidents. The Executive team runs the daily affairs of the society. The Board of Directors controls any matters that concern any individual club, rather than engineering students as a whole.