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"Where in the World!?" photo contest today
International Education Week runs from November 16 to November 20.
Co-operative Education and Career Action (CECA) is inviting members of the University community to come to the Tatham Centre to vote in this year's “Where in the World?!” photo contest.
"Come cast your ballot for your favourite photo taken by our UW students who worked in the USA or Outside of North America," says a note from CECA. "You’ll be amazed to see “Where in the World?!” UW has had a footprint for the 2015 Co-op Year!"
CECA sets interview records during Fall Main Round
by Brent Thornhill.
On October 28, activity in CECA hit an all-time high, with the greatest number of interviews ever recorded on a single day. A total of 1,425 students took part in in-person, phone, webcam/Skype, group, and off-campus interviews.
With over 7,000 students scheduled to go out on a co-op term in Winter 2016, the Tatham Centre (TC) has been a hive of activity all term. Other highlights from main round (October 5-30) include:
- 1,539 room bookings in TC for interviews
- 190,000 applications submitted by students, which is a 10 per cent increase over Fall 2014
- 663 Skype/webcam interviews, which is a 20 per cent increase from Fall 2014
Although many of our international employers choose to take advantage of our Skype/webcam capabilities to conduct interviews, some made a cross-continental journey to interview Waterloo students in person. Organizations from Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom were represented in the halls of TC last month. This level of commitment is a testament to the global reputation of Waterloo co-op students among our 6,300+ employers.
Our momentum from main round has carried over into November. The first week of continuous round has also set a record, with 558 students matched with employers.
“I’d like to thank all of the CECA staff members who are instrumental in the success of the co-op process,” says Rocco Fondacaro, acting executive director for Co-operative Education & Career Action. “A sincere thank you, as well, to all of our campus partners who are champions of co-op and the services provided by CECA.”
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the release of the CECA Annual Report to learn more about the success of our students and the future innovations of CECA.
Mario Coniglio re-appointed AVP Academic
"I am delighted to announce that Professor Mario Coniglio has been re-appointed Associate Vice-President Academic," writes Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard in a memo distributed yesterday. "Mario‘s re-appointment is for a three year and 5 month term effective February 1, 2016."
"This portfolio is vitally important to the UW community, but is also a link to the external community through quality assurance, credit transfer, on-line learning and transfer programs," the provost writes. "Mario has led this broad-ranging portfolio with insight and professionalism, and an appreciation and understanding of all stakeholders."
"I am most grateful to Mario for agreeing to continue in this role, and ask that you join me in thanking and congratulating him," concludes the provost.
Senate votes on Fall Break fact-finding
At Monday's Senate meeting, a motion was passed requesting that the Registrar's Office investigate and report back to Senate on the achievability of scheduling Spring term exams by April of each year, starting in 2016.
The rationale for the motion reads as follows: "An exam schedule released early for the Spring term is a clear work-life balance benefit to University of Waterloo students, faculty and staff trying to plan vacation time in August."
"Achievability refers to investigating how it could/should be done if the University decided to do it (much like the directions given to the Fall Break Task Force)," the motion's background information states.
As part of the Fall Break initiative, the Registrar's Office pledged to try and pre-slot exams for instructors who teach in both Spring and Fall terms, and it was noted that while this will be helpful for instructors, it may not be too helpful for other campus stakeholders. Furthermore, if most Spring and Fall instructors request early exams, it will not be feasible for the Registrar's Office to accommodate the majority of requests.
Registrar Ray Darling noted that under the current system, the Registrar's Office waits until after the final add/drop date before scheduling examinations. He said that the University of Guelph is one of the only institutions in Ontario currently scheduling exams at such an early date in the term. The trade-off, he explained, is having a complete exam schedule on the one hand, but losing control of the schedule on the other.
There was some discussion over whether or not the motion should be amended to include early exam scheduling for all academic terms, but ultimately the original motion was passed as written.
IEW student spotlight: Taryn Fleischauer
International Education Week runs from November 16 to November 20.
During her 3B term at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Taryn Fleischauer explored the land down under and even got to take selfies with a few kangaroos.
“The initial reason I chose to go to Melbourne, Australia and visit New Zealand was because I have friends who live there and it was an excuse to see them and to explore their countries,” said Fleischauer. “I knew that going on an exchange would be a rewarding experience, if only to spend time with my friends and see some pretty sights, but it was much, much more than that.”
“I learned so much about Australia and discovered that it is not so different from Canada, in both positive ways, and unfortunately negative ways as well. I was given the opportunity to see countless strange animals up close, I learned enough Aussie slang to get me by, I experienced cities, desert, ocean, hills, tundra, and I not only met people from around the world, but also from back home in Canada. This exchange was truly magical in so many ways and I can only hope that others will take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”
The deadline to apply for a Fall 2016 or Winter 2017 exchange is Tuesday, December 1. To find out what exciting countries you can discover and how to apply visit the Opportunities for Students webpage.
Thursday's notes
"Exactly 50 years ago, in 1965, the University of Waterloo acquired ownership of the historic Brubacher farmhouse on the north campus," writes Peace & Conflict Studies Professor Marlene Epp. "It is now the Brubacher House Museum and available for classes, meetings, and retreats. My Mennonite History class visited the House on a beautiful sunny afternoon on November 7, our ‘make-up Monday’ for a missed Thanksgiving day class."
While we're on the subject of houses, here's a message from the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL): "The Centre for Extended Learning has moved and we invite you to join us for an Open House in our new location. Come by and enjoy some refreshments, tour our new home and see demonstrations of some of the work we’ve been doing.”
CEL's new digs are located on the second floor of East Campus 3 (EC3) and the open house will take place on Tuesday, December 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please RSVP online.