Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Student safety a top priority on co-op work terms

By Andreea Perescu

As the wildfire continues to burn, all eight Waterloo students planning to work in Fort McMurray this term have returned to Ontario. When the massive wildfire began to threaten the city last Monday evening, student evacuation began immediately. Emails and text messages were exchanged with displaced students into the early hours of Tuesday morning as Waterloo staff tracked their whereabouts.

“We knew where [the students] were, and we were trying to communicate with them at least twice a day,” said Peggy Eichinger, a CECA regional manager located in western Canada. 

Four of the eight co-op students were conducting field research under the supervision of Waterloo Professor Richard Petrone from the Faculty of Environment. “Everybody that left, left with just their rubber boots and their field clothes on," stated Professor Petrone in a recent CTV article.

While some students were promptly flown out of the city, others were evacuated to safe locations in Fort McMurray and Edmonton. 

For the students affected by the fire, Waterloo’s network of local staff were able to assist with the evacuation process. The employers, faculty members and student advisor situated in Fort McMurray were quick to offer support during the earliest hours of the crisis. Other safety resources include:

• Concrete workplace safety guidelines for employers
• 24-hour police duty on campus and an evening shuttle service
• The WatSAFE app for timely emergency notifications to the whole campus

Ensuring that co-op students are safe is always a priority, no matter where they are in the world.

Integrity is a core value at Waterloo

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

Amanda McKenzie is the University of Waterloo’s Office of Academic Integrity manager, but she would be first to say there is more to the title than meets the eye.

"The University of Waterloo is quite unique: we look at integrity as a whole," McKenzie says. "It is a core value we promote, and that everyone on campus should be abiding by. If you have personal integrity, you’re going to naturally have academic integrity."

Enhancing a sound value system is one of eight themes driving the University’s Strategic Plan, and integrity is critical for its success.

Honest scholarship on the part of students and faculty remains a major part of the sound value system at Waterloo, along with the expectation that everyone bears responsibility for upholding the University’s high standard of study and competition.

Integrity speaks to character

Campaigns under the Integrity Matters brand encourage the University community to appreciate integrity as more than a collection of policies governing scholastic and athletic conduct. It’s a much larger matter of personal character — a lens by which we view others, a mirror by which we see ourselves, and a guide for how we behave.

Among the ways Waterloo focuses on integrity:

• Integrity Matters workshops help staff develop their own values checklist, and keep it close at hand as an easy reference guide;
• Posters and videos promote five principles of integrity: respect, responsibility, trust, honesty and fairness; and
• Events, sticky notes, student orientation kits and student integrity ambassadors repeat the theme of “work. study. play. with integrity.”

Integrity Matters presentations also urge students to use on-campus support services, including success coaching, counselling and health services, if they find themselves struggling with exams and project deadlines. Part of the job of promoting integrity is “helping people feel comfortable with asking for support,” McKenzie says.

Read the rest of the article on the Strategic Plan website.

Velocity Start, South Side Marketplace grand opening next week

Velocity and UW Food Services are excited to invite members of the University community to the Grand Opening of two new spaces on the 2^nd floor of South Campus Hall: Velocity Start and South Side Marketplace.

Velocity Start offers comfortable workspace, weekly entrepreneurship workshops, startup coaching, a makerspace, and much more.

Adjacent to Velocity Start is South Side Marketplace, which provides the Waterloo community with local, fresh, and a wide variety of foods to enjoy. Some of the best food on campus can be found in the marketplace, including Lebanese cuisine, sushi, pho and ramen bowls, gourmet pizza, fresh local fare, and a premium coffee bar!

Join us for delicious food samples, and good company, for the Velocity Start and South Side Marketplace Grand Opening on Wednesday, May 18 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.. Please register to ensure there are plenty of samples for all. See you there!

Conference provides catalyst for girls in engineering

This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity stories that feature Waterloo in the community.

From April 29 to May 1, 2016, 48 grade eleven students from across Canada came to the University of Waterloo to participate in the Catalyst Grade 11 Girls Conference hosted by Engineering Outreach. An exciting opportunity for adolescent girls to get involved in hands-on workshops and compete in a design competition, the conference also offers a chance for aspiring undergraduates to explore main campus and experience life in residence, giving a glimpse into what it’s like to be part of our Waterloo community.

Mariko Shimoda first attended the Catalyst Grade 11 Girls Conference in 2014 as a high school student, having no idea what a career in engineering could look like. Providing real hands-on experiences like tap dilling and anodizing titanium rings left her feeling inspired. Two years later, she is now studying mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo and dedicates her extra time to giving back to the conference through volunteer student leadership positions.

“I think this conference is one of the best ways to experience what your life as a Waterloo engineering student could be like. So many girls don't consider engineering or doubt they can succeed in engineering, so having the opportunity to attend this conference can make a huge difference in a girl's confidence in her own abilities.”

Conference participants took part in an intense weekend of programming designed to shed light on different engineering disciplines, connecting with over 15 current engineering students, staff and faculty who volunteered their time offering advice and leading workshops. Proving the effectiveness of the outreach program, four conference-goers from 2015 (now in Grade 12) also returned to act as ambassadors at the event, and will be returning to campus again in the fall as first year Faculty of Engineering students.

“The real value of this conference is giving girls insight on what engineering really is and showing them that it is a field where they can be just as successful as their male classmates.”

By integrating young girls into the world of engineering and connecting them with our community, the University of Waterloo is playing a leading role in helping to achieve gender parity in a typically male-dominated field. Through offering innovative programs that merge opportunities for high schoolers with relevant social and economic problems, our outreach efforts continue to strengthen our vibrant community and develop leaders of the future.

Update on Office 365 Education, voting open for new cloud e-mail domain

A message from Information Systems and Technology (IST)

Microsoft Office 365 Education implementation information & Vote for new cloud e-mail domain

Information on the move to a new, cloud-hosted e-mail service for undergraduate students, and at a later date alumni, is now available on the Information Systems & Technology (IST) website. An explanation of what Microsoft Office 365 Education is, its key features/benefits, as well as frequently asked questions about the e-mail/collaboration tool are available. The page also includes a tentative timeline for implementation and a web form for related questions and feedback. This page will be updated as the deployment progresses, so be sure to check back regularly.

Linked from this main Office 365 page is a document that provides background on the investigation and decision to move to a cloud-hosted e-mail service.

Visit https://uwaterloo.ca/ist/student-cloud-email for more information.

Shortlist of cloud e-mail domain name suggestions now available

IST received hundreds of suggestions for the new cloud-hosted e-mail domain name and would like to thank those who participated in this phase of the process. Please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/ist/student-cloud-email-domain-vote to view the shortlist of names and cast your vote to help us choose the new domain name. The form will remain open until end of day Friday, May 13 and we will announce the name the following week.

Wednesday's notes

“The Federation of Students is hosting the Campus Life Fair on Wednesday, May 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre Great Hall," writes Jacqueline Martinz. "About 40 groups from all over campus will be in attendance at the fair. This is a great opportunity for undergraduates to explore the many ways they’re able to get involved at the University of Waterloo. It’s important to get involved and learn outside the classroom. By volunteering, students meet new people, hone their skills, and create memorable experiences. Along with the Campus Life Fair, Feds is holding Spring Welcome Week events such as Clubs and Societies Days."

More information about the events is available online.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include Fairfax, Kubica, Microsoft Canada, Yext, Microsoft, D2L Corporation, Blackberry, Desjardins General Insurance, LinkedIn, CI Investments, Zynga, Shopify, TD Innovation Lab, Genesys Laboratories, Work Market, Nascent, A Thinking Ape, and Cockroach Labs. Visit the employer information sessions calendar for more details.