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Starting with students, the peace industry takes root at Grebel
By Jennifer Konkle.
This summer, the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement (CPA) has partnered with St. Paul’s GreenHouse to provide employment and development for selected first work term students as a “Social Entrepreneur in Training.” After a comprehensive training week, these passionate and determined Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) students are matched with employers who provide a taste of the start-up culture.
“It’s great to see so many students making contributions to the work of our participants and to our community on the fourth floor!” said CPA Director Paul Heidebrecht. “They are fast learners, and their learning is quickly shared with others.”
The CPA is a unique space and working community located at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. The Centre stands as a bridge between campus and community, academics and practice, and faith and justice. In this unique position, student engagement is vital to the CPA, bringing energy, new ideas, and urgency to make the world a more peaceful place.
“We’ve found that PACS students are forward thinkers who envision the world as a better place - always thinking about ways to improve the future and quality of life,” said Lowell Ewert, Director of PACS at the University of Waterloo. “This energy can be transferred into their creative drive to change things. And what better way to do this than through peace innovation? You don’t study peace and conflict because you are okay with the status quo.”
Waterloo’s ethos of experiential learning reaches beyond tech start-ups and underpins social innovation too. Participating groups in the CPA have hired 13 students this summer, including co-op students, summer students, and paid interns from across the faculties. Students in Fine Arts, Philosophy, Peace and Conflict Studies, Public Health, Urban Planning, Engineering, Computer Science, Math, and Global Studies are learning valuable skills and techniques that will help them find their place in the peace industry – whether these students end up in an existing job or create their own.
“As a Peace and Conflict Studies student, I have always felt extremely invested in many social justice issues, but I’ve often been uncertain as to how I can tackle these issues proactively,” said Kieran Klassen, a co-op student working for the second time at Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement. “This was a chance to work for an organization with which I could really see myself making a difference and learning some relevant lessons and skills. Witnessing Tamarack’s commitment to the projects and initiatives we are currently working on has given me a much more realistic and tangible understanding of how individuals can make a substantial, positive impact on society.”
Grebel is home to the oldest peace studies program in Canada.
Professor joins CIHR’s College of Reviewers
Professor Sherry Dupuis has been selected as one of 15 inaugural College Chairs for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) College of Reviewers.
The College Chairs, who were selected based on diversity of health research and knowledge translation expertise, will enhance peer review quality and provide independent, expert advice to CIHR in the building of the College into an internationally recognized resource.
Dupuis is a professor in Recreation and Leisure Studies and the former Director of Waterloo’s Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP). She also co-leads the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance, a national research initiative focused on culture change in dementia and long-term care.
Professor Dupuis has been a pioneer in the active engagement of persons living with dementia and their family care partners as co-researchers in research and knowledge translation processes.
Dupuis joins 14 other chairs who will work in close collaboration with CIHR’s Chief Scientific Officer to oversee national strategies to continue to attract and retain outstanding peer reviewers, ensuring that the necessary frameworks are in place to provide peer reviewers with the relevant learning, mentoring and support required to deliver fair and quality reviews.
The College Chairs were selected among over 100 candidates from across Canada. Each Chair will be appointed for a renewable term of two, three, or four years to allow for the staggering of replacements. The appointments were effective July 1, 2016.
Wednesday's notes
The Science Undergraduate Office (SUO) in STC 2031 will open later today at 10:00 a.m. due to a staff meeting.
Check the SUO webpage for regular office hours.
The next installment of the WISE Public Lecture Series will feature Professor Madjid Soltani and is entitled “Natural Ventilation of Buildings Using a New Design of Wind-Catcher to Decrease Energy Consumption in Windy Regions.”
The lecture will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in CPH 4333 on Thursday, August 4.
Professor Soltani is an alumnus who received his PhD from the University of Waterloo in 2012.
Wind-catchers or wind towers are passive cooling systems, which can naturally ventilate buildings without using electrical power. They can provide thermal comfort for residents when air conditioning is required in windy regions. In this lecture, Professor Madjid Soltani will discuss his wind-catcher design and the study in which it was implemented.
This event is free, though registration is required, and is open to the public.
Retiree John Debrone died on August 1. Debrone worked as a technician in the School of Planning and School of Architecture from 1981 until his retirement in August 2009. The vistation will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 4 at the Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener. The funeral service will take place in the funeral's chapel on Friday, August 5 at 11:00 a.m.