Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Grand River Hospital and the School of Pharmacy celebrate partnership

by Alana Rigby

Grand River Hospital and the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy hosted an appreciation reception on January 10. The event celebrated and acknowledged the teaching and research partnership between the two organizations.

Grand River Hospital is a strong supporter of Waterloo Pharmacy’s co-operative education and patient-care rotation programs, and has been since the School first opened. For every term since the fall 2008, the hospital’s pharmacy program has accepted between one and 10 students to gain clinical experience in a hospital setting. Grand River has offered a total of 105 co-op student positions in the past eight years, and next term they are hiring a record-setting 13 co-op students.

Pharmacy students are highly appreciative of the opportunity to work at the hospital. As proof of this, Esther Lee, a Grand River co-op supervisor, was the first recipient of the Outstanding Co-op Employer award.  This award is bestowed based on nominations from students.

This partnership is mutually beneficial for the hospital and Waterloo Pharmacy. Grand River provides an engaging atmosphere with an experienced team of pharmacists to mentor and train students, while the students bring renewed energy and eagerness to learn.

Beyond providing a location for pharmacy student co-op and rotation placements, the hospital is also an invaluable research partner. They collaborate with School of Pharmacy researchers like associate professor Shawn Wettig, who examines the use of irradiated gold nanoparticles to target prostate cancer, and clinical lecturer Tom McFarlane who is studying the applications of telemedicine in oncology care.

The School of Pharmacy looks forward to continuing this partnership with Grand River Hospital and is excited for future research projects and student learning opportunities.

Waterloo speakers to shake up Nature Unleashed Dialogue Series

Kicking off the Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters dialogues on Sunday, the University of Waterloo’s research strengths in climate change, natural disasters and flood mitigation were highlighted by Jean Andrey, dean of the Faculty of Environment, during her opening remarks at the launch event.

The Nature Unleashed exhibit at THEMUSEUM, developed by The Field Museum, Chicago, will remain open until February 20. University of Waterloo staff, faculty, alumni and students can receive 25 percent off admission to the exhibit when purchasing tickets online. Send an email to cre@uwaterloo.ca with your WatIM ID to get the promo code.

Sponsored in a three-way partnership between Waterloo Community Relations and Events, the Water Institute and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3), Nature Unleashed explores how some of the world’s most powerful natural disasters affect our world and communities.

At the event, it was also announced that two Waterloo faculty members will deliver related talks in our local community in the next month:

• Geography and Environmental Management Professor Brent Doberstein will speak prior to the Grand River Film Festival screening of “Monsoon” on January 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Borealis Grille & Bar. Tickets are $22.12 and include complimentary appetizers and a cocktail. Register.
• Cvil and Environmental Engineering Professor Monica Emelko will present “Fires, Floods and Other Natural Disasters: Climate change threats to water across Canada” on February 5 at 1:30 p.m. at THEMUSEUM. Registration is not required. Tickets are free, with a suggested $10 donation.

Winter Game Jam is Fast Approaching 

by Cayley MacArthur

This term the Games Institute, UW Game Development Club, and IGDA are hosting our once-a-term Game Jam from January 20 to 22. You can check out more details and register if you'd like to participate. 

The Waterloo Game Jam is a thrice-annual, multi-day event hosted by The Games Institute (GI). Participants team up and create games. Each event is open to the public and is designed to appeal to a wide variety of playful people.

Whether you have an idea for a game design in the works, or if game design has never crossed your mind, there is room for everyone! All levels of expertise and preparation are welcome.

Every Game Jam weekend follows our "Learn, Make, Play" theme:

• LEARN: you can hear talks from GI and community experts about the tools and techniques involved in the design and creation of games.
• MAKE: you can build your own games from scratch along with helpful advice and guidance from our GI mentors. You can create your own game mechanic, gameful art, game characters and narrative, or try your hand at coding for your very own game prototype.
• PLAY: you can explore new kinds of games, try out some of the brand new games that were made at the DIY event itself, and give/receive feedback with local game experts.

Remember that no expertise is required, and on the first night (January 20) we will have tutorials on some game design tools/techniques, and we will try and match you up with like-minded creators (if you don't already have a group).

Come on out and join us to create and have a play-full event!

Wednesday's notes

The University’s Senate formally approved the change in name to the former Secretariat & Office of General Counsel at its meeting Monday afternoon.

Effective January 9, the department has been divided into two distinct offices: the Secretariat, and the Office of General Counsel. “This division will better support the successful navigation by our campus community with our complex policy and governance environment,” says the Senate motion’s rationale.

Since April 2013, personnel in the Secretariat have been licensed to practice law, and have been regularly providing legal advice, legal opinions and other legal services to the University. In February 2014, the name of the office officially changed to Secretariat & Office of General Counsel, reflecting the expansion of services on offer. In December 2016, it was announced that the unit would become two offices, with Logan Atkinson taking responsibility for the Office of General Counsel as the University’s General Counsel. A search for a permanent University Secretary will be undertaken, and in the meantime Karen Jack will report to the president as Associate University Secretary.

The Secretariat will continue to support and provide guidance on University governance, policy and risk management matters, and the Office of General Counsel will provide legal counsel governed by an independent regulator and supervised through the auspices of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The Senate’s vote recommends the name change to the Board of Governors.

Associate Vice-President, Academic Mario Coniglio will be hosting a "Stop and Talk" event in the Student Life Centre Great Hall on Tuesday, January 24 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. to chat with undergraduate students about their academic experience at the University. "This is your opportunity to ask questions and tell us how you envision undergraduate education at UW," says a message sent to undergraduate students today. "Tell us what we can do to make your experience even better!"

There will also be free cookies.

The Registrar's Office is reminding students that official academic standings and final grades for the fall 2016 term are available as of January 20. Students can check their unofficial transcript in Quest. 

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include IBM Canada, Zynga, Capco, Rave Media, Inc. D2L, WorldQuant, LLC, Loblaw Digital, Isaac Operations, Rubikloud Technologies Inc., RBC BrandU, RBC Time4Us, RBC TechTalk, RBC, Sales force, Square, Inc., Amazon, 500px, PointClickCare, and Infusion Development Corporation. Visit the employer information sessions calendar for more details.