What is Electrical and Computer Engineering?

Engineers use math and science to solve problems and create new products and services.  Engineers make the world a better place; they take a fuzzy idea and turn it into something real.

As an electrical and computer engineer you will work at the heart of the most rapidly developing technology humankind has ever seen.  You'll employ nanoelectronics, computers or new photonic crystals to create biomedical instruments that save lives, ultra high-speed internet connections, and new robotic systems that can search disaster sites or remotely explore other planets.  You will make devices and systems that harvest the energy of the sun, wind and sea and channel it into the energy grid that supports modern civilization.  A unique feature of the ECE program you'll enjoy at U of T is the breadth of scientific and engineering endeavours that it enables you to work in.  It is common to find electrical and computer engineers working in:  business, biomedical engineering, computer hardware, the aerospace industry, computer software, nanoelectronic chips, photonics, nanoengineering, robotics, and solar energy harvesting & distribution.

With the raw materials of light, electricity, imagination, physics, biology and a "can-do" attitude, you will be at the forefront of creating the future.

What do Electrical Engineers do?

Using electricty and light (photons), electrical engineers apply specialized engineering skills to the design, manufacture, application, installation and operation of electrical products and systems. 

Almost everything we use and rely on in our everyday life has an electrical component -- from the microwave that heats up our food, to the computer we use at work, the computer games we play with, the television we watch, and the cell phone we use to keep in touch -- everything relies on electricity, electronics, computer chips and/or programming.  The diagnostic equipment used in hospitals is also designed by electrical engineers working in the field of biomedical engineering.  Electrical engineers keep the world in touch and running smoothly, by designing new devices or improving on existing ones.  For example by designing a smaller, cheaper and more powerful cell phone.

Electrical technology can be combined with other fields of engineering, such mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering in the case of designing an artificial limb for the victim of an accident.  Electrical engineering offers a broad range of research in areas as diverse as communications, systems control, biomedical engineering, electromagnetics, photonics, electronics and energy systems.

What do Computer Engineers do?

Computer engineers are members of the engineering profession who specifically develop solutions dealing with the growing computer industry.  This is one of the newer disciplines of engineering, that has its roots in both electrical engineering and computer science.

Computer engineers work in every sector of society and industry.  They can design the control system for an automated production line in industry, create software for digital telephone switching systems, plan and supervise the installation of a Local Area Computer Network (LAN), or develop a new operation system for a client with specific needs -- to list just a few of the jobs they might do.  There are three options within computer engineering for students to choose from:  communication networks, software and hardware engineering.  Some students prefer to include all of these areas in their studies.  The choice is up to you.

Engineering students are also taught how to solve problems, a skill you can use in the future to understand new technologies as they emerge.

Electrical and computer engineers work in a variety of fields including biomedical engineering, the aerospace industry, and Intellectual Property Law.  Many can be found in the business world where their knowledge of tecnology and their problem-solving, time-management, communication and team-building skills are highly valued.  Both are found in the banking and finance sectors, communications industry, power sector and IT businesses.  ECE is one of the best undergraduate degrees in that it prepares you for almost any profession and doesn't close any doors.