Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Waterloo’s Strategic Plan is a comprehensive plan to build on our foundational strengths to answer society’s call and emerge as one of the world’s top innovation universities.

Beginning this week, the Daily Bulletin will be sharing a number of Strategic Plan stories that highlight efforts within each of the eight themes of the plan:

• Experiential education
• Entrepreneurship
• Transformational research
• Outstanding academic programming
• A global outlook (Internationalization)
• Vibrant student experience
• Robust employer-employee relationship
• A sound value system

These stories profile some of the initiatives, and individuals driving these initiatives, that are part of the robust efforts to implement the Strategic Plan. 

The first story deals with the theme of transformational research and profiles Professor Jennifer Clapp.

Highlights of these #UWStratPlan stories will be published in the Daily Bulletin on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The stories can be read in their entirety on the University's Strategic Plan page.

This is the first in a series of #UWStratPlan stories that profile some of the initiatives that are part of the robust efforts to implement the Strategic Plan. 

A well-stocked supermarket presents a view of a food system that is amply supplied, efficient and stable. Research by Jennifer Clapp shows it isn’t nearly so neat and simple. 

"In my book, Food, I talk about distance in the food system," says Clapp, a professor in the Department of Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. "That can mean the distance food travels from where it is grown to your plate; but it also refers to a kind of distancing where we don’t fully understand the power relationships that happen in the supply chain, from growing food to eating it."

Clapp is a Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability (Tier 1). Her books, papers and blog posts provide leading insight into how food finds its way to our tables; how the supply chain features an interesting cast of characters, from farmers to chemical producers to policymakers; and how feeding nine billion people by 2050 may not be as straightforward as growing more wheat or building bigger feedlots for livestock.

A sustainable food system, she says, must include a big role for small farmers producing traditional food sought by local or regional consumers.

It is the kind of work that stands out under the transformational research theme of the University’s Strategic Plan.

Read the rest of the story on the University's Strategic Plan page.

RL Solutions - A healthy dose of Waterloo talent

by Brent Thornhill.

Co-op work terms are the perfect opportunity for students to test drive their careers and make strong contributions to their employers. They also give employers the chance to tap into the talent pool here at the University. In the case of RL Solutions, an organization that specializes in healthcare software, Waterloo co-op students have become a vital part of their talent pipeline.  Student work terms often lead to full-time employment after their graduation.

“RL has had great success hiring full-time people out of our co-op student program,” says President and CEO Sanjay Malaviya (BASc ’93). “Over 80 per cent of the students we’ve hired as full-time employees have come from Waterloo, and every single one of them is a superstar. I can’t imagine our company today without them.”

RL Solutions was born out of a project to collect patient complaints that Sanjay took on in his spare time when he was a co-op student at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Word spread after St. Mike’s presented about the system at an American Hospital Association conference.

Fast forward to today, and the healthcare software company now has a suite of software being used in over 2,000 organizations around the world. RL’s tools help healthcare organizations track patient feedback, report adverse events, manage claims, and reduce infection outbreaks. RL’s software is also used to determine root causes of errors and to conduct peer reviews.

The company has been hiring Waterloo co-op students since 2009, and has been very impressed with the scope of knowledge they bring to the organization right from day one.

“At the risk of sounding cliché, it’s the outside-the-box thinking that they bring with them,” explained RL’s Stephanie Radcliffe (BA ’06), marketing manager, communications. “We love the entrepreneurial spirit Waterloo co-op students have. Their proactive approach to finding and solving problems combined with the lack of fear to share new ideas is very important to us. RL was founded and bred with that culture.”

Work terms are available in every function of the business including client management, software development, quality assurance, marketing, sales, and IT. RL hires students from a wide variety of programs, with Science and Business, Arts and Business, Software Engineering, and Computer Science being the most popular. 

The company prides itself on giving its co-op students a lot of responsibility and treating them just like full-time employees.

“We place a lot of trust in them,” says Kate Zaparanuik (BA ’13), who had two work terms at RL before joining them full-time. “While I was a co-op, I lead several projects including planning the open house for our new office for almost 300 people. Another co-op student, Skye Wattie (BA ‘15), was implementing software for our client by himself by his second work term.” Skye was recognized for this work as the 2015 Arts Co-op Student of the Year.

RL strives to create an inclusive culture for co-op students, often inviting them to team off-sites and Sanjay hosts a co-op appreciation event each semester.

“I’ve never forgotten the autonomy, faith, and respect that I was given as a Waterloo co-op student at St. Mike’s,” says Sanjay. “I always dreamed about being in a position to hire other students and give them the same opportunity. Little did I know, my efforts would be put to shame by so many of these bright young Waterloo alumni we’ve been blessed to work with.”

Professors honoured with SIAM fellowships

Two faculty members in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization have been named Fellows of the international Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

Professor Thomas Coleman, who served as Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics from 2005 to 2010, is now a member of the SIAM Fellows Class of 2016. He was honoured “for contributions to large-scale, sparse numerical optimization, financial optimization, and leadership in mathematics education and engagement with industry.” More information on Tom’s SIAM Fellowship can be found on the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization website.

Professor Henry Wolkowicz became a SIAM Fellow in 2015, honoured “for contributions to convex optimization and matrix theory.” His work is described in more detail on the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization website.

SIAM Fellowships “honor SIAM members who are recognized by their peers as distinguished for their contributions to the discipline.”

Finance Minister visits for student town hall; other notes

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will be looking to engage with students at a town hall meeting tomorrow in the Sedra Student Design Centre that deals with the impact of the recent Federal budget.

Minister Morneau will discuss the recent budget and the Government of Canada’s plan to grow the economy and support the middle class through investments in post-secondary education, research and innovation. 

The interactive town hall session will be preceded by a meeting with President Feridun Hamdullahpur and Vice-President, University Relations Sandra Banks.

The town hall event happens at 2:00 p.m. in the Sedra Student Design Centre. Please register, as seats are available on a first come, first served basis.

The ninth annual staff conference gets underway today. The two-day event, hosted by Organizational and Human Development (OHD), features world-class keynotes as well as workshops (designed by your own campus colleagues) that help to develop personal and professional growth in our employees and further creates a robust, vibrant, and engaged community.

The conference workshops cover a range of topics suited such as team building, career goals, managing meetings, international student retention, and more. Keynote speakers include Samantha and Marc Hurwitz, musician Steven Page, David C. Roberston of the Wharton School, and adventurers and authors Colin and Julie Angus.