Projects

Faculty Advisor Approvals:

PAF requires faculty advisors to review and approve all Design Project applications. Applicants will need to submit a PDF document or screenshot that indicates their Faculty Advisor’s written approval of their Project application(s). The submission should also include the Faculty Advisor’s email, send date of the email, as well as the Project application’s name/high-level information.

Faculty Advisors will review each Project application to ensure that the Design Project is connected to core missions of the Engineering Design Team, project goals/outcomes are robust and that Project budgets are fiscally responsible.

PAF only requires one Faculty Advisor approval per year per project. In the event of resubmission, the PAF Committee has the discretion to request a resubmission of Faculty Advisor approval.

Provide at least 10 business days for Faculty Advisors to review, discuss (if necessary) and approve completed Project applications.

Funding calculation:

• A team cannot receive more than $23,000 from PAF in one fiscal cycle and cannot receive funding for more than 5 projects.
• A contingency of up to 10% is automatically included in your application. The 10% contingency will only take into consideration PAF-eligible expenses. Non-PAF expenses such as Capital Purchases will not be considered.
• PAF Funding shall not exceed the lesser of 50% of the project’s budget or the total cap listed below.
• The Project and Competition cap amounts are based off their respective budgets, not the overall expense amount.
  • It is required that at least 50% of funding comes from sources other than PAF.

Additional notes:

• Please ensure that clickable links or photos are included with the application to provide clarity and detail.
• PAF will not cover per diems during travel, food and drink, or alcohol-related expenses. These costs will be removed from your budget when considering the application.
• Project Expenses Categories:
  • Prototype: Prototype-related expenses (e.g. buying M3 screws for Project 1 Component)
  • Competition: Competition-specific expenses (Prototype shipping fees, accommodation, transportation, competition fee, insurance)
• Administrative or Marketing costs:
  • Administrative expenses are any costs associated with Design Team management and processes (e.g., website domains, team uniforms/shirts, marketing materials).
  • PAF will not cover these fees. Applicants can put these costs under the “Administrative” expense category in their budgets, they will be automatically removed from funding calculations. 
• Consumables
  • Consumables are goods that must be replaced regularly because they wear out or are used up on a regular basis
  • Examples include: printer filament, raw materials, PPE, scissors
• Capital Purchases
  • PAF will generally not fund capital purchases such as investments in equipment. Exceptions require a specific description and plan, and pre-approval for the capital purchase through APSC PD.
  • Applications must demonstrate that this request cannot be fulfilled through any of the equipment or software presently available to your group or its members.
  •  A capital purchase can be defined as:
    • A purchase greater than $750 CAD (excluding tax and shipping), OR
    • A piece of equipment that has a multi-year lifespan AND that will not fit in a team’s designated design space, OR
    • A software or software licenses
  • These are NOT considered capital purchases:
    • Consumables
    • A part of your prototype (for example: mold purchase, frames, etc.)