Monday, November 20, 2017

The talk of the town hall

More than 260 students, faculty and staff joined President Feridun Hamdullahpur at Federation Hall last Tuesday morning for the President's Town Hall Meeting. In addition, hundreds of viewers watched the livestream of the event.

The president delivered a presentation that looked at the highlights of Waterloo's 60^th anniversary year and chronicled the accomplishments and successes the University achieved over the last twelve months, and how those activities would be amplified during the next round of strategic planning. The president reviewed several key performance indicators including student retention from first to second year, co-op enrolment, and the increase in student study space across campus.

The president also gave the audience an overview of the University's emerging Indigenization strategy and the progress made on the ever-important issue of student mental health.

As the University moves into strategic planning mode for the next five-year cycle, the president spoke about institutional approaches to change.

"From here on, we're going to move forward," President Hamdullahpur said. "Going forward requires creating change...to do that, we have to look at our institution and our world from a little distance."

"Right now, what's happening here, the challenges—social, environmental—and the complexity behind those, we have never seen anything like this," Hamdullahpur continued. "This is telling me that we need to think beyond our normal ways, because the challenges that we have in front of us, they are of unimaginable scale."

In the question and answer session that followed, a number of topics were raised, including how the University's strategic planning activities will take into account the Campus Master Plan, the notion of differential workloads for researchers and professors, embracing change in all faculties and academic support units, employee mental health, encouraging active transportation to, from, and on campus, and data management.

There were also a number of questions on the topic of divestment from oil and other fossil fuels in the University's pension fund and wider portfolio.

Following the Q&A, Celebration 2017 Legacy Project co-chairs Jeff Casello and Peggy Jarvie were invited to the stage and delivered an overview of the student design project that culminated in the reveal of the winning team—Team Interlace—whose design will inform the redevelopment of the arts quad.

Video and Q&A transcripts of the 2017 President's Town Hall Meeting will be available on the Office of the President website shortly.

University Gateway project seeks feedback

Does University Avenue work for you?

The City and the Region of Waterloo are partnering with the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College to develop new visions for the future of University Avenue between Highway 85 and Westmount Road.

"University Avenue is a vital east-west transportation route, but it is also the first impression that many new students, residents and visitors experience of the City of Waterloo," says a note from the consultation organizers. Members of the University community (and the community at large) are invited to share your thoughts, ideas and visions for University Avenue’s future at the first Public Information Centre for the Gateway Project on Thursday, November 23 at St. Michael’s Church from 5:30 to 8:00. Community input will help the project team address the challenges of:

• Recognizing the Avenue’s important role as an east-west transportation corridor, which supports the movement of large numbers of people and goods, but also creates a physical and psychological barrier between the northern and southern portions of the City.
• Providing safe and accessible opportunities for multiple transportation modes along the length of the University Avenue corridor including vehicle traffic, public transportation, cycling and walking.
• Designing the spaces along University Avenue to provide a visually appealing gateway experience.  The physical appearance of University Avenue ought to capture Waterloo’s unique character and, in turn, attract investment, development, students and prospective residents.

Visit www.universityavegateway.com for more information about the Gateway Project, and to RSVP for the Public Information Centre on November 23. 

Taking quantum beyond borders with pop-up exhibition

The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC)’s QUANTUM: The Pop-up Exhibition tours Europe this month to showcase the power of quantum technologies and celebrate the contribution by Canadian scientists to this rapidly growing research field poised to transform our society.

“We often hear from people that quantum science is intimidating, “said Tobi Day-Hamilton, director, communications and strategic initiatives at IQC. “From the beginning, our goal in developing QUANTUM: The Exhibition was to engage people of all ages in a fun and unique way. A lot of amazing research takes place right in our own backyard and we want to share this great work with the world.”

IQC designed the portable version of the quantum experience to accommodate demand at events and festivals. The Pop-up incorporates popular interactive activities, games and videos from the larger exhibit, but takes up less than 10 percent of the space. Tour stops include: 

• Berlin Science Week, Berlin, Germany, November 1-5
• Dutch Science Policy Meeting, Delft, Netherlands, November 8-17
• UK National Quantum Technologies Programme, London, England, November 20-23
• European Innovation Summit, Brussels, Belgium, November 27-December 1

Follow @quantumexhibit on Twitter to get the latest updates.