Two years after a $100 million donation renamed Queen’s Faculty of Engineering, some Engineering students say they’re still unsure how the funding has affected their education.
In November 2023, entrepreneur Stephen Smith announced the donation to the Faculty of Engineering, which was subsequently renamed the Stephen J.R. Smith School of Engineering. At the time, the University said the funding would support a transformation in engineering education at Queen’s.
But several students told The Journal they haven’t noticed changes in their education caused by the donation.
“I honestly haven’t noticed any major changes in how we’re being taught since the donation was announced. Things feel pretty much the same,” said Bennett McIntosh, Sci ’29, in an interview with The Journal. “Most people I’ve talked to don’t really see a difference in their day-to-day education.”
McIntosh added that while he believes the donation’s important, its impact hasn’t been clear to students. “My impression is that a lot of the money is probably going toward maintaining the program instead of actual changes for students right now,” he said.
Other students acknowledged changes within the faculty but questioned whether those changes have been beneficial.
“I’d say the largest change that I found is probably through the curriculum,” Domenico Giancola, Sci ’29, told The Journal. “Most of our classes this year are very different and are structured differently compared to before.”
Giancola said he noticed changes in courses like chemistry and linear algebra, which he believes are connected to the donation. However, he describes many of these shifts as experimental. “Like they’re trying new things, but not all of this is positive towards our classes,” he said.
In a statement to The Journal, Smith Engineering said the donation is being used to support Reimagining Engineering Education, the University’s new education model.
“We have established a series of teams to help guide the changes associated with Reimagining Engineering Education, which include representatives of each of the Smith Engineering Programs, working groups to address specific topics, and an overall Guiding Team,” the statement said.
The faculty also emphasized that students are being consulted throughout the process. Four three-hour drop-in Q&A sessions were scheduled to take place from Jan. 12 to 15 in the Integrated Learning Centre to allow for further student discussion.
Jordan Belainsky, president of the Engineering Society (EngSoc), said, in a statement to The Journal, that the society isn’t directly involved in decisions about how the donation is used but has played a role in facilitating communication between students and the faculty.
“EngSoc isn’t a consultant for the donation, but we’re making efforts to improve communication between students and the faculty about the donation, its impact, and feedback,” Belainsky said.
Belainsky said EngSoc has members who sit on faculty board and receive updates on Reimagining Engineering Education, though he noted that EngSoc isn’t a consultant on the donation.
He added that members of EngSoc executive attended the Smith Engineering Showcase over the summer, which highlighted pilot projects funded by the donation. The tangible impacts presented were largely limited to individual courses across several disciplines, including changes to grading schemes, course structure, and labs, Belainsky said.
Some students expressed concerns anonymously through a ThoughtExchange form shared with students in December 2025 to gather feedback for the engineering faculty. ThoughtExchange allows participants to submit written responses and then rate other students’ submissions based on how strongly they agree with them.
One respondent said that EngSoc design teams, often considered a core part of hands-on engineering education, haven’t seen sufficient benefits from the investment. “Design teams are the very core of practical learning at Queen’s,” the student wrote. “Despite the huge investment in the university, design teams don’t have the appropriate funding or space allocation for their level of competition.”
READ MORE: Design teams report decreased funding from Dean’s Donation Fund
Other students called for improvements to the structure of the first-year program, including better exposure to different engineering disciplines, particularly smaller programs that they feel are often overlooked.
Several respondents also raised concerns about coordination between courses, citing overlapping deadlines, inconsistent expectations, and poorly aligned prerequisites.
While Smith Engineering maintains that the donation is driving long-term educational reform, students suggested in the form that clearer communication and more visible outcomes would help bridge the gap between administrative planning and student experience.
Tags
donation, Smith Engineering, student concerns
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