Tuesday, October 17, 2017

As Zero Waste Week continues, Plant Operations started the base of waste mountain outside DC to help raise visibility around waste on campus. To see more about how you can help reduce waste, visit the zero waste week webpage.

First round of financial reporting now available in Unit4

​A message from Finance.

Late in the week before Thanksgiving, the Unit4 financial system sent out the first Operating Fund and Research Fund month-end delivered reports via email. These reports were delivered to the Dean/Chair/Director/Department Head ultimately responsible for the operating funds and to the Principal Investigator for the research funds. Reports for the remaining Funds are currently in the final stages of development.

Concurrent with the delivery of the September month end reports, a number of online enquiries have been made available that can provide similar versions of this information as well as the actual transaction details. These enquiries are a work in progress and will evolve over time.

All users in the Unit4 system have access to the online enquiries. Each user’s position in the reporting access hierarchy determines the types and level of information they can view.

A separate document has been prepared outlining the delivered reports and online enquiries available, what each contains, and how/where they can be accessed. This document will be expanded upon as further enquiries are developed and deployed.

There is also an RT queue set up for Unit4 issue/question tracking: rt-FIN-Unit4@rt.uwaterloo.ca.

Teams ponder industry problems at pitch competition

University of Waterloo students and alumni continue to demonstrate that successful ventures are created by people who have a deep understanding of the problem they are solving. Which is why Velocity and the Problem Lab have partnered to host the Problem Pitch Competition, where student teams identify an important industry problem, thoroughly research it, and share their knowledge.

Competitors were asked to specify a problem, and explore its context, including researching its history, the problem’s stakeholders, and how many people it affects. Ten finalists will make 5-minute problem pitches on October 17 to an audience of peers and a panel of judges, for a chance to win a share of $7,500 in grants to fund R&D to develop a solution to the problem.

This term, from the problems of illicit activities on the dark web, to the lack of diversity in tech, to microfiber pollution in water, the ten finalist teams exploring problems that need solutions are:

• CleepSycle - Increased sleep deprivation is negatively affecting health, decreasing productivity and creating dangerous work situations.
• Dark Side - There is no effective way of monitoring the dark web that is increasingly being used for illegal activities.
• Demystify - The complexity and negative perceptions of Blockchain technology limit its adoption and uses.
• Equitech - Companies are failing to maintain and attain gender diversity at the expense of company profits.
• PolyGone - Microfibers from synthetic materials in the textile industry are increasingly deposited in water supplies and food sources.
• Priv - Companies are collecting more personal data while individuals have little or no control over their own data, how it is used, its integrity, or its security.
• Qalm - Fluids transported in pipelines can freeze in cold climates, causing damage, lost product and company downtime in the mining industry.
• Sec-Int - Smart devices in the Internet of Things do not employ adequate security.
• The Health Aisle - The increasing and overwhelming number of over-the-counter drugs prevents healthcare professionals from staying up-to-date, and places consumers at risk without accessibility to accurate information.
• Wecasual - Negative communities and disorganized play disrupt the important teamwork component of eSports games and lead players to quit using games.

The event takes place from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Quantum Nano Centre Room 0101.

Stratford Campus celebrates 5-year anniversary

#ThrowbackTuesday: Pictured at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 17, 2012 were Jana Zacharias, Master of Digital Experience Innovation (MDEI) student, Douglas Peers, Dean of Arts, Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, Open Text, Dan Mathieson, Mayor, City of Stratford, Feridun Hamdullahpur, Ginny Dybenko, Executive Director, Stratford Campus, Dave Muscat, Senior Director of Sales Canada, Christie Digital Systems, and Jean-Francois Tremblay, Bachelor of Global Business and Digital Arts student.

by Annaka Willemsen.

Today marks the 5-year anniversary of the official opening of the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus. From the initial beginnings of just 100 Global Business and Digital Arts students and 19 Master of Digital Experience Innovations students, the campus now sits at a total student population of 611 – all of whom are passionately carving their way in the changing landscape of digital media and creative business practises. 

The programs’ unique mix of creativity, technology and business has proven its success. The employment rate for undergraduate alumni in the digital media landscape is 91 percent, with companies such as Amazon, Scotiabank, Telus Digital, Deloitte and more.

“This is really way beyond our wildest dreams…”says Christine McWebb, Academic Director. “What we hear from them [students] is that they chose this because they don’t want to take a program in just one discipline. They really want to branch out and study different related disciplines in one program.” McWebb sees no reason why the phenomenal growth experienced over the last five years at the Stratford campus won’t continue into the next five.

Remembering John Jongerius

Retiree John "JJ" Jongerius died on Thursday, October 12. JJ worked with the Federation of Students for 40 years, joining the Feds in May 1974 as the manager of the Record Store, and retired as manager of Feds Used Books in 2015.

After two years as an undergraduate student studying cultural anthropology and political science at Waterloo, JJ got a job with the Feds part-time in 1973, holding various positions with Feds and its Board of Entertainment (BEnt), which produced and promoted concerts for Waterloo students, bringing such performers as The Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Sha Na Na, Leonard Cohen, Frank Zappa, and many others to campus.

From 1974 to 1991, JJ managed the record store, which was located in the Campus Centre (now the Student Life Centre), and took on the role of manager of the Used Bookstore in 1988. He was also the Feds' postmaster from 1990 to 2000, the manager of the Variety Store and Scoops, the Feds' ice cream stand (now Wasabi!) from 1995 to 2000.

Known for his love of loud Hawaiian shirts and for never missing an opportunity to speak truth to power when it came to issues he was passionate about, JJ was a gentle giant whose institutional memory and student focus were key assets to the Feds during his long career.

Predeceased by his son Mike, JJ is survived by his spouse Carol and daughters Amy and Holly.

The visitation will take place today from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Dreisinger Funeral Home located on 62 Arthur St. S. in Elmira. A celebration of life will take place on Wednesday, October 18 at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home's chapel.