Last week I had the pleasure of travelling to London, UK, with our President and Vice-Chancellor, Vivek Goel. London is a hub for international finance, but it also has a burgeoning tech scene with successful startups, technological innovation and advances in sustainability – areas that are also differentiating strengths for the University of Waterloo. This alignment makes the city an important destination for University leaders as we continue to build academic and industry partnerships worldwide.
During our trip, we met with alumni and business leaders to discuss opportunities to amplify our core strengths in global research, entrepreneurship, co-operative education and work-integrated learning. Senior industry leaders (who are also esteemed alumni!) joined us for a deep dive into the Waterloo at 100 vision, where we discussed our goals to address complex challenges like climate change and the impact of new technologies on society. We also exchanged ideas to introduce more of our co-op students to UK-based organizations that will help us to provide our students with opportunities to gain international industry experience while they are being prepared to thrive in rapidly evolving sectors.
The President and I expanded on these discussions at a social hosted by our London alumni chapter. We were joined by Professors Ian Rowlands (AVP, Waterloo International) and Catherine Burns (AVP, Health Innovation), and Waterloo graduates, students and co-op employers who were all eager to connect at this long-awaited event. Professors Burns and Rowlands had also been exploring potential university partnerships, primarily in the health space. Knowing that our researchers and students excel at the intersection of traditional fields, I am confident that these types of partnerships will yield important discoveries that will benefit humanity and our planet.
We’re excited to continue these conversations with alumni and partners in London. To our gracious alumni chapter hosts, thank you for your inspiring ideas and your exceptional hospitality. We’re looking forward to connecting with you again soon!
Nenone Donaldson
Vice-President, Advancement