Monday, October 3, 2016

Paint the campus red tomorrow

a message from University of Waterloo’s United Way campaign

Red boots. Red outfits. Red balloons and red streamers. These are just some of the pops of red you can expect to see tomorrow as the University of Waterloo goes red to support the launch of the university’s 2016 United Way campaign. 

Help us paint the campus red tomorrow by wearing your favourite red outfit or decorating your office space in red. Share your photos of the campus going red by posting it on Twitter or Instagram with #UWUnitedWay.

Watch your @uwaterloo.ca email inbox for a link to your ePledge form on October 4 and learn about how you can donate using our new secure, online giving system.

So, just what is WatPD, anyway?

The Waterloo Professional Development Program (WatPD) is the on-campus department responsible for refining co-op students’ professional skills while they explore the workplace during their co-op terms. WatPD works alongside the university’s instructors and co-op program to make sure students are ready to excel in the workplace, and we’re diving into the department’s role on campus with a four-part series in the Daily Bulletin this month.

It’s impossible to overstate the value of professional skills in the modern workplace. Candidates need to display strong communication, problem solving, teamwork, and ethical rigor just to secure employment given the competitiveness of the job market, and they need to continue improving those skills once they’ve been hired to ensure continued excellence. Employers across Canada — including dozens of University of Waterloo co-op employers who participated in a recent survey — report that professional skills are just as, if not more, valuable than technical skills when it comes to ensuring employee success.

WatPD helps students develop those skills and connect them to the experience they gain during their work terms. Students complete WatPD’s courses online during their co-op terms, making it easier for them to refine and reflect on the skills they’re using with their workplace colleagues and supervisors on a daily basis. After completing two required courses that introduce them to the program, cover employment fundamentals, and reinforce the importance of professional development, students choose two or three elective courses that build specific, useful skills. From broad topics like communication and teamwork to more specific offerings like project management and professional responsibility in computing, there are a wide variety of courses made available each term.

By the time co-op students leave Waterloo, they recognize just how important professional skills can be. WatPD ensures students can put said skills to use in their first workplace and beyond.

When the Daily Bulletin’s series on WatPD returns next week, we’ll take a closer look at how the department supports students who are just starting their co-op journeys.  

CTE announces Senior Instructional Developer, Blended Learning

The Centre for Teaching Excellence is pleased to announce that Dr. Mary Power has assumed the role of Senior Instructional Developer, Blended Learning, as of October 1, replacing Jane Holbrook who has retired. In this position, Mary will provide oversight of blended learning initiatives, working closely with the team of CTE Faculty Liaisons.

Mary joined CTE in 2008 as the Faculty Liaison for Science and has worked with a variety of instructors across Science helping create active and blended learning opportunities in the classroom. She has been involved in research projects assessing the impact of these changes and has published and presented the findings nationally and internationally.

While she is sad to be leaving her Science family, she is looking forward to working with the broader university community across all faculties, including the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) and Instructional Technologies and Multimedia Services (ITMS), to continue to ensure the highest quality blended learning at the University of Waterloo.