The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
Campus mourns loss of computer science student
A message from the University of Waterloo.
It is with deep sadness that the University of Waterloo must announce the death of Xinyi (Grace) Jin, a second year computer science student at Waterloo. Grace Jin passed away due to health-related issues on February 26.
“With an extremely heavy heart, I offer my thoughts and condolences to Grace’s family and those who knew her,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur. “The University remains ready to support Grace’s family and friends in any way we can during this difficult time."
The family has asked that we share details of Grace’s funeral, which will take place at Pine Hills Cemetery and Funeral Centre, 625 Birchmount Road, Toronto, ON, M1K 1R1 on Saturday, 10 March, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Counselling services are available for any students who may be affected by this news.
Minister of Science visits campus for funding announcement
By Natalie Quinlan.
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, visited the University of Waterloo to announce $1.6 billion in federal funding towards basic science, the biggest investment for research in Canadian history. The new funding will help early career researchers, encourage more women to advance in science, and help further various projects.
The Daily Bulletin's recent coverage of the 2018 federal budget has more details.
Executive actions here and abroad in March
It’s Wednesday, March 7. Do you know where your president is?
It has been an active week on campus and will be an even more active week on and off campus in the week to come. Here is a non-exhaustive list of President Hamdullahpur's recent activities and a look ahead at what's on his calendar.
President Hamdullahpur was honoured to provide welcoming remarks at the 13th Annual International Women’s Day Dinner at Fed Hall on Friday, March 2. The annual dinner attracted representatives from across the University community from all Faculties and many community partners, all coming together to honour women and those who identify as women. Vice President, University Research Charmaine Dean delivered an inspiring keynote address at the event urging the crowd to continue the fight for gender equity in the world of academia and around the world.
On Monday, March 5, the President welcomed and met with the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, as she came to Waterloo to announce the tremendous investments in bolstering research in Canada, including a $15 million commitment to the Institute for Quantum Computing.
What’s next on the President’s schedule?
On Monday, March 12, the President will be part of a panel event on the University's commitment to academic freedom. The panel event will bring together university leadership and faculty to discuss the different perspectives of academic freedom and why it is a central, unwavering principle at Waterloo.
On Thursday, March 15, President Hamdullahpur will be traveling to United Kingdom to attend the Ditchley Foundation’s conference on “Turkey’s Place in the West”, lending his experience as leader in higher education to the conference’s important discussion.
On Tuesday, March 20, the President will be in Saudi Arabia attending the Times Higher Education Middle East and North Africa Universities Summit. President Hamdullahpur will be delivering a keynote address on “Fostering Research for the 21st Century University” before hundreds of higher education leaders from the region and around the world.
Nutrition Month myth vs. fact for March 7
Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" prepared by Health Services Dietitian Sandra Ace for Wednesday, March 7:
Myth: Small children are too young to learn to cook.
Truth: Cooking helps children to develop fine motor skills, understand math concepts, and expand their vocabulary and reading skills. The earlier children are exposed to cooking, the more likely they are to try different foods and learn to enjoy a variety of flavours and textures. Cooking is an important skill that encourages children to use simple, healthy ingredients rather than learn to depend on processed foods. The benefits of cooking, which can be enjoyed by children as early as age two, last a lifetime. Five Tips for Cooking with Kids shares fun ideas for getting kids involved in meals.
Here be Dragons, Waterloo LEARN sees Daylight, other notes
The Dragons' Den audition tour will be making at stop at the Davis Centre today from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Producers from the hit CBC show will be evaluating pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs from campus and the wider community who want a chance to present their business idea to the titular Dragons when the next season starts shooting. The audition tour has been on the road since February, crisscrossing the country, and will wrap up in April.
The latest in Conrad Grebel's Noon Hour Concert Series takes place today at 12:30 p.m. in the Conrad Grebel Chapel. The Ice Is Cracking Under My Feet will showcase the trio EVA, which features cellist Vesa Norilo, kantele player Anna-Karin Korhonen and soprano Essi Wuorela (Rajaton), all hailing from Helsinki, Finland. Their repertoire consists of traditional Finnish folk music as well as original music composed by members of EVA. Each member of the group brings a wealth of musical experience, having studied a wide range of styles from classical to jazz and folk.
Information Systems and Technology has announced that just before the Spring term, Waterloo LEARN will move to D2L's newest user interface (its “look and feel”), called Daylight. There will be no downtime for this update. However, users logged into Waterloo LEARN while the update is being applied will notice changes to the look and feel.
IST recommends that instructors avoid updating their grades in LEARN during the changes. An announcement will be posted once the update has completed.
The move to the Daylight look and feel is required by the vendor, D2L, says a note from IST. Waterloo LEARN will benefit from a new responsive design, meaning a more consistent experience across devices. While the look and feel is changing, there are no functional changes to tools within Waterloo LEARN. For general information on D2L’s new look and feel, check out the D2L website.
The update is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 25 at 9:00 a.m. As details become available about how long these changes will take, IST will post them on the Waterloo LEARN help site. Once the update is finished, IST will post a system alert and an announcement in LEARN to indicate the process is complete. Anyone with questions can send an email to learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca.
IST has also announced that the replacement of the identity management system known as WatIAM has been rescheduled to begin on Friday, March 23 at 4:30 p.m. until Tuesday, March 27 at 8:00 a.m. Anyone with questions or concerns is invited to contact the IST Service Desk at extension 44357 or by sending an email to helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.
Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include KPMG and Manulife CPA. Visit the employer information calendar for more details.
Finally, I have been on vacation since February 20 and would like to thank my colleagues in University Communications for ensuring that the Daily Bulletin continued to publish during my absence. And thank you all for reading!