Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Team wins Hult Prize regionals with refugee venture

Team EPOCH: Lisa Tran, Keith Choy, Jade Choy, and BETS student Ryan Schmied.

This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre website.

On March 4, Team EPOCH from the University of Waterloo won the London Regional Finals of the Hult Prize, beating out sixty-one other teams from universities around the world (including MIT, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, and many more). The Hult Prize, backed by the Clinton Global Initiative, is the world’s largest social entrepreneurship competition.  Every year it challenges student teams to build scalable startups to address the world’s biggest problems. EPOCH is one of five regional finals winners, selected from a total of 2000 teams from universities all over the world. They have earned a two-month stay in the Hult Prize accelerator and the chance to pitch for $1M in seed funding at the finals in September.

This year’s Hult Prize challenge, selected by President Bill Clinton, focused on building social enterprises to restore the rights and dignities of 10 million refugees by 2022. Team EPOCH, composed of Science and Business student Lisa Tran, Accounting and Financial Management student Jade Choy, and Masters of Accounting alumnus Keith Choy, developed a mobile application designed to bring together refugees and community members through the exchange of skills, talents, and services.

“As a team, we have seen firsthand the challenges that newcomers face in Canada,” says Lisa. “Our solution gives access to community support and gives newcomers a way to contribute as well.” Through the app, users can earn and redeem time credits to give and receive help according to their abilities and resources.

Read the rest of the article on the Conrad site.

Pharmacists support rural communities across Canada

The Pharmacists Support series is issued by the School of Pharmacy for #PAM2017. It runs in the Daily Bulletin every Tuesday and Thursday in March.

Class of 2011 alumni Marc-André Gravel is the Executive Director of the Centre de santé communautaire de Kapuskasing et région, a Community Health Centre located in northern Ontario.

Kapuskasing, Marc-André’s home town, is over 7 hours northeast of Sault Ste. Marie by car. The town and the surrounding areas are about 70% francophone and are also home to many First Nations Canadians.

Many people in the area face limited access to primary healthcare providers: “All our front-line primary care is delivered by nurse practitioners and we have to maximize the scope of practice of each member of our allied health team,” says Marc-André.

Though he studied and worked in big cities in southern Ontario, as a pharmacist, Marc-André felt he had to return home: “Pharmacist representation is even more important in rural areas, which often lack the presence of multidisciplinary teams.  It is essential to showcase what the profession is capable of doing and the patient-centered benefits associated with our work.”

Staff election to Board of Governors coming up

Voting begins Monday, March 20, 2017 as full-time staff members elect a representative to the Board of Governors.

Brief campaign statements are available online for the five candidates who are contesting the position:

• Agata Antkiewicz, The Games Institute;
• Saeed Bagheri, Office of Research;
• Liam Morland, Information Systems & Technology;
• Gregory Smith, Information Systems & Technology; and,
• Kate Windsor, Safety Office.

All regular full-time staff and all union full-time staff as defined in University of Waterloo Policy 54 may vote.

Per the Board of Governors' Staff Election Guidelines, the campaign period begins today, Tuesday, March 7, and runs through Thursday, March 15. The voting period for regular full-time staff is Monday, March 20 to Friday, March 24 by electronic ballot. The voting period for union full-time staff is Monday, March 20 to Friday, March 24 by paper ballot.

Full-time regular staff will receive an email prompt to vote electronically and ballots will be mailed to full-time union staff members. For more information, please contact Emily Schroeder, ext. 32749.

Remembering David Copp

Human Resources has reported that retiree David Copp died on February 22.

Copp joined Waterloo's fledgling co-operative education department in May 1965 after a career in industry as an engineer. "David was enthusiastic about the concept of co-operative education and took great pride in his relationship with students and their employers," writes Ken McLaughlin.

After working in the co-operative education department, Copp moved to the Office of Research.

After 25 years with the University, he retired in September 1990 as Contracts Manager in the Office of Research.

In retirement, Copp continued to stay involved with the University through active participation in the UWaterloo Retiree’s Association, and he helped to organize and conduct a wide-ranging oral history project drawn from the memories and experiences of Waterloo retirees.

"I remember his enthusiasm and his excitement about working to record the early history of the University," writes McLaughlin. "Not only did he provide a fascinating account of his own work in co-operative education, but he took on with equal enthusiasm the project to interview his fellow retirees as part of an extensive oral history initiative which has been invaluable to recapturing the life and times of the University’s early years."

This oral history project is available through the Library's Special Collections and Archives.

Carrying on the family tradition, Copp's daughter Leslie also works in the Office of Research as a proud second-generation employee at the University.

His funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 11 at St. John's Church on 33 Henderson Street in Elora at 1:00 p.m.

David is survived by his wife Mary.

Tuesday's notes

"Celebrate the women you love and their powerful contributions at the University Club on Wednesday, March 8," says a message from the University Club. "With a delicious menu created by Chef Richard Cramm, this is sure to delight your taste buds while helping to recognize women as part of International Women's Day. Seared scallops, a quail, chestnut and butternut squash salad and coffee walnut layer cake are only a few of the delectable offerings." Reserve your table now, but walk-ins are also welcome.

Today is the final day to submit a nomination form for the faculty representative to Senate positions and the graduate student representative to Senate positions. Nomination forms are due by 3:00 p.m. today. Please drop off forms with Emily Schroeder in Needles Hall, room 3060. For more information, see the Secretariat website.

The women's hockey team's historic season came to an end on Sunday afternoon as the Gryphons got the better of the Warriors 4-1 in game 3 of the OUA semifinals. "It was a season to remember for women's hockey and when the 24 Warriors look back on the season they will all have fond memories of their magical run," says an article on the Athletics site, which has the full details of the game.

Also in varsity sports news:

The Waterloo men's volleyball team has qualified for the OUA Final Four for the sixth straight year and they need your support. There has been a bus trip planned for any fans wanting to go down to Hamilton on Friday, March 10 to show their black and gold pride as the Warriors take on the Guelph Gryphons. The winner of the game advances to the OUA final on Saturday and qualifies for the National Championship the following weekend in Edmonton.  

The bus departs campus at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, March 10, with the game starting at 5:30 p.m. The bus will be back on campus by 8:00 p.m.

The $10 ticket includes transportation, a discount at the Waterloo Store and a chance to win $100 to Mel's Diner. Tickets are available online or in the athletics office (PAC - Red North) until Thursday at noon. 

To accommodate students preparing for exams, the Library will be extending its hours from Sunday March 26 to Tuesday, April 25.

The Davis Centre Library will be open 24 hours except closed Sundays from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. The Dana Porter Library will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. every day.

For more information, check out the Library's website.