Monday, May 16, 2016

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• Save the date for the Keystone Picnic!
• Accelerator Centre celebrates 10 years
• Waterloo Unlimited students meet for change
• Monday's notes

Save the date for the Keystone Picnic!

A message from the Keystone Campaign.

Faculty, staff and retirees are warmly invited to the 15^th annual Keystone Picnic. Join us on Friday, June 3, for live entertainment, a fabulous new lunch menu, freshly spun cotton candy and our ever-popular dunk tank.

• Date: Friday, June 3
• Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Location: DC Quad 

We’ll also have a picnic for our evening staff from 6:00 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Life Centre.

Celebrating our campus community, the Keystone Picnic recognizes our faculty, staff and retirees for their generous support as donors and volunteers. Everyone is welcome to attend.

We’ll be giving away some great prizes, including a $100 gift card for UpTown Waterloo. To enter your name in the draw, visit the Keystone Picnic trivia page and answer our six questions about the Keystone Campaign.

Keystone donors — a save-the-date postcard will arrive in your mailbox soon. Remember to wear the sticker that comes with the card; we’ll be handing out prizes in the daytime and the evening!

To all those who give, thank you for making such a strong impact on our campus community. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone on June 3.

Accelerator Centre celebrates 10 years

The Accelerator Centre will be celebrating 10 years of startup incubation with an official visit by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada on Tuesday.

His Excellency will participate in the Accelerator Centre's 10^th Anniversary Open House event, which starts at 12:00 p.m. An anniversary gala is scheduled for May 18.

The Accelerator Centre opened its doors on May 18, 2006, established by the University of Waterloo and incorporated as a non-profit organization, and was designed to encourage the growth of high-tech firms and to act as a catalyst for the creation of new products and services. The initiative was the result of a multi-stakeholder partnership, with land and a portion of the initial operating funds provided by the University, and the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, Waterloo Region and the City of Waterloo providing the primary capital funding. The centre now counts Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College, University of Guelph and several economic development and technology organizations as partners.

Offering office space, mentorship and startup services, the centre accelerates the growth of new technology companies and promotes commercialization of academic research. Chief executive office, Paul Salvini, also serves as associate vice-president of research commercialization in the University.

Since 2006, the Accelerator Centre has developed and nurtured over 300 early-stage technology startups, created 1,500 new jobs, and generated $500 million in revenue and funding. Fifty-one companies have graduated from the Accelerator Centre, and more than 85 percent of these companies have remained in Waterloo Region.

Following his attendance at the 10^thanniversary celebration, the Governor General will visit the Conrad Centre, addressing the MBET students following an introduction by Howard Armitage.

Waterloo Unlimited students meet for change

by Rae Crossman

Waterloo Unlimited, the high school enrichment program on campus, is currently hosting forty-four bright, motivated grade 10 students from across the province this week. Exploring the theme of “Change”, the students are attending lectures and participating in workshops, seminars and labs offered by all the Faculties. They are examining technological, social, political, and environmental change as they consider the perspectives of scientists, engineers, writers, and philosophers.

Waterloo’s local MP and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Bardish Chagger, recognizing the value of engaging youth in rich educational experiences, enthusiastically participated in the opening session providing a politician’s perspective.

The students, as part of their Waterloo Unlimited experience, prepared for the talk by critically examining the Minister’s mandate letter as issued by The Prime Minister following the last election. That directive calls for Ministers to institute “real change” in Canadian government. The Unlimited students delved into the details of the mandate letter and, in a respectful exchange, questioned Minister Chagger on the government’s commitment to political change.

Following the opportunity to dialogue with a cabinet minister, the students next turned their attention to the destruction of coral reefs as a consequence of climate change, as Ellsworth LeDrew from the Faculty of Environment shared the results of his research. On the agenda for the week ahead: Mathematics of Change, Shape Memory Alloys, Chemical Change, Fostering Peace, Plants and Civilization, Poetry of Change, and more.

Waterloo Unlimited offers exceptional high school students from across Canada a unique transdisciplinary enrichment experience. Many students, thriving in a stimulating educational community, return for multiple programs (grade 10, 11, and 12), each developed around a different theme and delivered by devoted and passionate educators from across all the Faculties. For the high school students the experience can be transformative.

Making a direct connection to one of Unlimited’s cornerstones, intrinsic motivation, Minister Chagger gave some parting advice to the students concerning taking action for positive change, “Don’t do it because you’ll get credit; do it because it’s right.”

Monday's notes

The UW Recreation Committee is holding its annual plant and garden swap, "UWaterloo Blooms" on Wednesday, May 18. 

"Please bring your plant donations to the SLC MultiPurpose Room prior to 10:00 am if possible," says the note from UWRC. "Popular plant exchange items are tomatoes, sedum, forget-me-nots, and lily of the valley. Popular plant requests are hens and chicks, hostas, herbs, grape hyacinths, black-eyed susan, and lillies. What can you donate from your garden?" 

Seeds will also be available at no charge. Other garden items, such as pots, hand tools, and garden magazines are welcome. Liquid plant fertilizer will also be available.

The Registrar's Office has informed undergraduate students that they can request their Fall 2016 course selections anytime during the Course Selection Period, which runs from May 20 to May 30.

Students can request their fall course selections through their Quest account using the course selection process web page's step-by-step instructions.

Depending on a student's program, plan or major, core and required courses will be placed into his or her course list, which can be adjusted during the drop/add period from July 25 to September 21. Courses can be dropped without penalty until September 28.

Students are invited to contact their academic advisor if they have questions