Message from the mse Director

There will always be a need for traditional electrical, mechanical, or industrial engineers. But Simon Fraser University’s School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering (MSE) was designed to satisfy different demands. We’re meeting the growing call for smart, integrated, and sustainable solutions in an increasingly sophisticated and challenging world. 

Our dynamic program takes a unique multidisciplinary approach. That means we combine electronic, mechanical, and software engineering fields to train our students to tackle real-world problems with synergistic and inventive solutions. Breakthrough technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, Industry 4.0, and the internet of things, are profoundly changing the way we live, learn, and work. MSE has a unique opportunity—through our research and teaching—to provide the critical link between the cyber and physical worlds in an increasingly cyber-physical society. The deep experience and innovative spirit of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the fields of sensing, actuating, and system integration makes us uniquely positioned for this crucial role.  

But our graduates are more than just great problem solvers. 

Our program – located at the state-of-the-art Surrey campus – adds a level often missing in traditional engineering schools. We teach students not only how to innovate but also how to actualize solutions in the marketplace, adding essential communication and business skills that bring elegant new problem-solving products to the real world. 

These entrepreneurial building blocks enable our students to create and manage their own start-up companies. But they also make our graduates highly sought-after among potential employers. It’s another principle of our program: we’ve built a rigorous curriculum – one of the first of its kind in North America – that is always responding to the demands and requirements of industry. 

That means our courses are planned with the real world in mind. Students are trained in vital hands-on technical skills while our mandatory co-op program provides invaluable practical experience, connecting students directly to future employers who recognize the value of their cross-discipline skills. It’s why our graduates have an almost 100% job placement record. 

Faculty, of course, is the foundation of everything we do. Our award-winning team is amongst the most active group of researchers in this field throughout the world. They’re the bedrock of our convergence of multidisciplinary skills – and the reason our students go on to forge successful careers in diverse fields from automotive to robotics and from biomedical to aerospace. 

When the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering was founded to meet the growing challenges over a decade ago, our founding director Prof. Farid Golnaraghi and other colleagues set our school – and each of us as individuals – on an ambitious path toward a more equitable future through education.

I am truly humbled and honored to have the opportunity to lead a pioneering school that attracts inventive students who are keen to feel the pulse and quicken the pace of the future. We’re one of the reasons SFU has been recognized by Maclean’s magazine as Canada’s No. 1 comprehensive university many times since 2008. 

We have much to be proud of at this university as well as within the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering. And with invention, business acumen and industry engagement as our guiding tenets, there’s always more to discover. 

I invite you to explore our website, contact us with any questions about the school – and then consider joining us in innovating the future. 

Sincerely, 

John Shen, PhD, IEEE Fellow 

Professor and Director, School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering