Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Federal budget bolsters research strengths and impact

Aboriginal centre changes name to Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre (WISC)

A message from St. Paul's University College.

Shatitsirótha’ means reigniting the flame in Kanien'keha (Mohawk language)  – and that’s what is happening at the newly renamed Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre (WISC). Formerly the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre, the space has not only adopted an Indigenous name, but is also renewing its energy on supporting and connecting with Indigenous students.

“Across Canada, we are seeing a shift in terminology used to identify the collective group of those who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. The term in place has been ‘Aboriginal’ and the shift has been to ‘Indigenous,’” said Lori Campbell, Director of the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre.

“The addition of Shatitsirótha’ to the name is not only connected to the opening of the Ceremonial Fire Grounds, but it also represents renewed energy and a sense of connection to the Centre space itself,” Campbell added. “It is also timely as the University of Waterloo embarks on working on its Indigenization strategy.”

The Centre, which is based at St. Paul’s University College, provides support and resources for current Indigenous students, educational outreach programs for Indigenous communities, lectures, events, an annual Pow Wow, and social campus events such as Soup and Bannock lunches.

Shatitsirótha’ is pronounced shah-tee-gee-roh-ta.

University of Waterloo hosts Lean in higher education seminar

(From left to right) Kimberley Snage, Director HR Projects, Technology & Analytics, Kenton Needham, Executive Director, Human Resources, Marilyn Thompson, Associate Provost, Human Resources, Justyna Maciag, researcher from Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.

In early February, the University of Waterloo hosted a Lean in higher education seminar. Representatives from other Canadian universities, including McMaster, Wilfrid Laurier, Ryerson and York attended to learn and share Lean experiences.

Lean is a systematic approach of improving processes by eliminating work that creates no value. It has three goals: culture change, effectiveness and efficiency. While traditionally applied to the manufacturing industry, Lean has gained traction within higher education institutions who are faced with pressure for greater accountability and transparency, shrinking budgets and an increased need for highly skilled talent.

University of Waterloo Associate Provost of Human Resources, Dr. Marilyn Thompson, realized the importance of collaboration across universities when she attended the international 2016 Lean in Higher Education Conference in Stirling, Scotland. “Because of their close proximity, universities in the UK could easily collaborate and share Lean ideas and practices,” she said at the beginning of the Lean seminar at Waterloo. “The strength behind what they were learning came from their shared knowledge. Working across institutions, there is huge potential for the development of world-class Lean processes for higher education.”

Guest speaker, Dr. Justyna Maciag, a researcher from Poland who is studying Lean culture in higher education, presented her findings at the seminar. UWaterloo Lean leaders also presented process improvements made through Lean methodology at the University of Waterloo. The Lean seminar provided several opportunities for idea sharing and collaboration, including a round-table session where attendees broke into groups and came up with solutions to common Lean barriers, such as resistance to change, and the challenge of finding time to analyze current processes and identify wastes. Ultimately Lean methods lead to savings in time and resources, but it can be hard to find time for the initial review and analysis while performing everyday duties.

As Lean initiatives are further developed at the University of Waterloo, collaboration across institutions will provide insights and lead to the development of continuous improvement practices that can be applied to higher education. UWaterloo Lean leaders will continue to seek out these opportunities throughout the year as they pilot a Lean consortium across eight departments on campus.

If you have questions about Lean at the University of Waterloo, please contact Marilyn Thompson, Associate Provost, Human Resources or Kimberley Snage, Director HR Projects, Technology & Analytics.

Wednesday's notes

The Noon Hour Concert Series continues with Sunabacka: Louis Riel’s Dream today at 12:30 p.m. in Conrad Grebel University College's chapel.  The featured composition for this noon hour concert is a 25-minute piece titled Mama’s Painting: Louis Riel’s Dream by Dr. Karen Sunabacka. The piece is inspired by an unfinished collection of paintings by her Métis grandmother Lenore Clouston titled “Louis Riel’s Dream.” The five paintings were to highlight the history of Western Canada through the stories of the indigenous peoples, illustrating the clashes of cultures and politics in Canada and pointing to a future where people of all races could live in harmony. Sunabacka decided to complete the project musically and used the prose of her mother (Joyce Clouston) to start each of the five movements of the piece. The final result is an interdisciplinary presentation of her grandmother’s vision.

Them's fightin' words: Electrical and Computer Engineering reports that "recent research by ECE PhD students Nahid Juma and Jonathan Shahen, Professor Mahesh Tripunitara, and an external collaborator, establishes that work that received a prestigious award from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US, is deficient at its foundations."

"The research pertains to a problem called information leakage in the context of cloud-computing, and is especially relevant given the ongoing wide adoption of such cloud-computing technology. The research is to be published in the IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, and is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TDSC.2018.2790932. Professor Tripunitara is in communication with NSA over these findings."

Your T2202A tuition tax receipt for terms in 2017 is now available on Quest.  Go to Student Centre, click on Finances, then on Tax Receipts.  Your charitable donations receipt for endowment fund contributions made in 2017 is also available on Quest, if you did not request refunds for those feed during the year.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include: Octopuz Inc.Visit the employer information calendar for more details.

Arts Undergraduate Office will be closed from 8:30-9:30am on Wednesday, February 28th for a staff meeting.