Projects

Application Procedures for PAF 2022-23 Term 2

  1. Download the most up to date PAF Application Excel form here to complete your application.
  2. PAF Application Handbook: This document is designed to walk you through the Excel form and highlight important points before submitting your application. We recommend having this document open as you are working on your application. If at any point you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the PAF Coordinator at paf@apsc.ubc.ca.
  3. PAF Term 2 applications are to be submitted through a Qualtrics Survey
  4. Details on PAF Q&A Sessions to come! You will have the opportunity to ask any questions or concerns you may have in regards to your PAF Application.

Important Notes:

  • Please use the following format to name your application: “STUDENTGROUPNAME Funding Application – PAF_2022_23”.
  • Please note that the Funding Application form includes several PivotTables, formulas and drop-down lists. We recommend being careful when copy & pasting information, using drop-down lists and to remember to “refresh” PivotTables.
  • Please download the sheet and make your edits locally on your own device. Uploading the sheet to a cloud server to collaborate with others damages the formulas.
  • You can use the resources available on the PAF website such as the PAF Guidelines, PAF Application Handbook and the FAQ page.
  • If you are no longer able to go to your competition (virtual or otherwise), PAF competition funds should not be spent. Please do not spend these funds on project costs – your competition funding will be put back into the PAF funding pool for the 2022-2023 cycle.
  • If you have any questions or concerns about the PAF Excel form, please contact the PAF Coordinator (paf@apsc.ubc.ca) before submitting your application.

Design Projects

Design Project PAF funding is intended for registered Engineering Design Teams.

Eligibility criteria:
  • All of the general PAF eligibility criteria
  • Applicants must be registered as an Engineering Design Team. This includes having a Faculty Advisor.
    • PAF requires faculty advisors to review and approve all project applications. Applicants will need to submit the email thread PDF or screenshot of their faculty advisor’s approval as part of their PAF application.
  • It is preferred if there are overarching goals from an external party such as a competition.
    • If there is no external organization imposing requirements, it must be clear how the success of the project will be measured and how the team intends to hold itself accountable for the completion of the project.
  • A team may not apply to both Travel and Conference funding and Design Project funding.
  • Design Teams may apply for multiple Design Projects; however, each Design Project must be demonstrably separate. Separate projects aim to create distinct physical items. The items cannot be part of a final larger piece. For example: a brake system and a chassis would be considered to be the same project.
Funding calculation:
  • A team cannot receive more than $20,000 from PAF in one fiscal cycle and cannot receive funding for more than 5 projects.
  • A contingency of up to 10% must be included in your application.
  • PAF Funding shall not exceed the lesser of 50% of the project’s budget or the total cap listed below.
    • It is required that at least 50% of funding comes from sources other than PAF
Additional notes:
  • If a Design Team is submitting multiple projects, any administrative expenses that will benefit the whole team (e.g., posters, website hosting) are to be split over all projects.
  • PAF will generally not fund capital purchases such as investments in equipment. Exceptions require a specific description and plan.
  • PAF will not cover per diems during travel or alcohol-related expenses. These costs will be removed from your budget when considering the application.

Funding for Projects is to be awarded by a student-faculty committee (PAF Funding Committee), based off the restrictions and guidelines outlined in this document. Decisions will be communicated to applicants no later than 30 business days following the application deadlines. The committee may modify requests as they see fit. The committee may also request additional information as required.

Professional Development Opportunities

PAF funds Professional Development Sessions that aim to advance students’ knowledge and skills. Examples of past sessions include networking nights, technical workshops, and seminar series. Note that Design Teams are eligible to apply for PD funding in the case of skill-building workshops; however, this counts towards their cap of number of applications.

Eligibility criteria:
  • All of the general PAF eligibility criteria
  • PAF shall not fund PD opportunities in which the main beneficiaries are not currently enrolled undergraduate UBC Engineering students (ex: youth outreach events).
Funding calculation:
  • PAF Funding shall not exceed 70% of the project’s budget to a cap of $10,000.
    Food shall be subsidized at a rate of $7/expected engineering attendee (students,
    industry, faculty members, or alumni). Attendance numbers should be briefly justified.
  • The lesser of $500 or 70% of the costs for venue and associate venue fees.
  • Gifts for speakers will be subsidized up to $25 per speaker up to a maximum of $150.
  • Other material costs such as workshop supplies can be funded up to $100.
  • PAF will fund up to a GTA1 salary (the rate for TAs who are enrolled in a Doctoral program or a Masters program and already holds a Masters degree in the discipline they are teaching in) for tutorial instructors.
Other notes:
  •  PAF will not fund alcohol or alcohol-related costs such as security or licensing. These costs will be removed from your budget when considering the application.

Other Projects

Other projects are those that do not fall into the above two categories. Examples of this would include hosting a conference or team-based competitions that are not aligned with Design Projects. Funding for these projects is awarded based on the discretion of the funding committee and should fall in line with past funding given to similar projects.

Eligibility criteria:
  • All of the general PAF eligibility criteria
  • Funding should be appropriate for the number of UBC Engineering benefitting from this professional development experience
Funding calculation:
  • Funding shall not exceed the lesser of 50% of the project’s budget or $10,000.
  • In the case that your project is deemed similar to a design team but does not qualify for the Design Project category, the committee will apply the Design Project funding principles to your application.
Other notes:
  • PAF will not cover per diems during travel or alcohol-related expenses. These costs will be removed from your budget when considering the application.