The ECEi program is right for you, if:

You are a prospective undergraduate student

You know you want to study Electrical or Computer Engineering and are ready to get a head start in your discipline in first year

You dream of becoming an entrepreneur with a world-class engineering background OR

You want to pursue an engineering career in industry and want to acquire additional business and communication skills that will give you a step up in your career

Looking for more information?

Frequently Asked Questions

Qunicorns newsletter

Contact the ECEi coordinator Alisa Darbinyan alisa.darbinyan@queensu.ca

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ECEi is the first direct-entry program in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Prospective students can chose to apply to it under a separate category in OUAC. First year ECEi students take the same common first-year curriculum as the rest of FEAS frosh students, with special course outlines and projects in three core first-year courses:

APSC 100 Engineering Practice l FW

APSC 143 Introduction to Computer Programming for Engineers F

APSC 114 Electromagnetics W

Upper year ECEi students are required to take the following four courses offered by the Smith School of Business: 

COMM 201 - Introduction to Business for Entrepreneurs – F

This course introduces students to the language of business, as well as the main functional areas of business, and demonstrates how these areas interact to produce and market products and/or services in an economically viable manner. An emphasis is placed on both strategic and tactical development and execution in entrepreneurial contexts. The course also assists students in developing an understanding of the nature of the modern entrepreneurial enterprise in Canadian and international contexts, and of the tasks, practices, and responsibilities of its leaders. Of particular importance is the use of a capstone simulation – like the Capsim Strategy Simulation, but one geared towards entrepreneurial ventures – whose focus lies in the development and application of fundamental strategic management skills and financial analysis interpretation for decision-making purposes. The approach of the course is to challenge students to strive to develop a base-level competency in business principles which they can effectively transfer to their future entrepreneurial venture. 

COMM 301 - Funding New Ventures – F

This course provides a detailed examination of the fundamentals of a financing strategy for new ventures, and the specific financing alternatives for obtaining capital to launch new ventures. The financing alternatives include crowdfunding, angel investing, and venture capital, and thus cover the entire financing spectrum from start-up to growth capital.

COMM 302 - Launching New Ventures – W

This course will focus on the specific commercial activities required to launch new ventures into industrial markets. Students will gain an understanding of how to size-up industrial markets, apply lean principles to the new customer development process, align early-stage demand generation activities with industrial buyer behavior, and implement best practices to acquire, retain and grow their first industrial customers. This course will make extensive use of cases both historical and ideally from the Living Case Initiative.

COMM 405 – New Business Development – F

The focus of this course is to provide students with knowledge, skills, and tools that form the basis required to identify, analyze, plan, and execute a new venture activity. It also provides a depth of understanding of the practical realities of new ventures and growing a small business. This course requires a high degree of self-study as the major project involves the detailed analysis, planning and presentation of a business plan for a new venture proposal. Students are expected and encouraged to use this course to assess and plan actual new venture opportunities that they may seriously consider. Guest speakers, cases and concepts will be utilized to allow the student to better understand the exciting and challenging realities of entrepreneurship and managing new ventures.

Dear ECEi community, innovators, entrepreneurs, friends of Queen’s ECE,

Congrats are due to our ECEi students who are wrapping up another academic term. With lots to look back on and even more exciting events coming up ahead, we would like to welcome you to our first ECEi newsletter: Qunicorns. 

Read the first issue of Qunicorns here.