uOttawa program: computer engineering vs Carleton U program: computer system engineering. Are they the same?

Ex-technical recruiter here... 6 of one, half dozen of the other. At the undergraduate level, the small differences between the two programs from a purely academic perspective are negligible. What really makes a difference will be work experience (CO-OP if possible) and/or participation in competitions/own business space. That said, both Ottawa and Carleton have decent networks to help you make connections with various industry/businesses with maybe a slight edge to Carleton for telecom/hi-tech and an edge to OttawaU if you want bio-medical.

Personally, having gone to both Carleton and Ottawa U (not in those programs), I preferred the student vibe at Carleton. I found profs at both to be of similar calibre.

/r/ottawa Thread