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Submission guidelines
Express your interest in Experiential Learning Lead program
The University of Waterloo is accepting expressions of interest from all instructors (including lecturers and professors) in the new Experiential Learning (EL) Lead program. EL Leads will support the ongoing expansion of EL at Waterloo and help their peers build capacity for offering EL opportunities within the Waterloo context.
There are three EL Lead positions available for a one-year appointment beginning May 1, 2018. EL Leads will be selected by a committee with representation from staff, faculty, and students. The expected time commitment for the role is approximately 80-100 hours over the course of the year, and EL Leads will be compensated with a stipend of $8,000. Alternatively, standard course release can be negotiated if agreed upon by the EL lead and their Chair/Director. Administrative support will be provided for program initiatives.
EL Leads will have three primary responsibilities:
- Supporting the creation of Faculty Learning Communities focused on EL. Faculty Learning Communities should meet approximately once a month from September to April. Administrative support and an additional $2000 will be allocated for expenses related to the establishment of Faculty Learning Communities.
- Participating as faculty members at a three-day Experiential Learning Institute with an anticipated delivery date of Reading Week 2019.
- Providing feedback on the EL Lead experience and making recommendations for sustainable capacity building related to experiential learning.
Funding for the EL Leads program is provided by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skill Development’s (MAESD) Career Ready grant program. The EL Leads program will use MAESD’s criteria for experiential learning activities, which must satisfy all of the following requirements:
- The student is in a workplace or simulated workplace.
- The student is exposed to authentic demands that improve their employability, interpersonal skills, and transition to the workforce.
- The experience is structured with purposeful and meaningful activities.
- The student applies university or college program knowledge and/or essential employability skills.
- The experience includes student self-assessment and evaluation of the student’s performance and learning outcomes by the employer and/or university/college.
- The experience counts towards course credit or credential completion OR is formally recognized by the college or university as meeting the five criteria above.
This program is an exciting opportunity for instructors with experience and interest in developing and teaching EL courses. Applicants with expertise in community engagement, peer mentoring, and/or the scholarship of teaching and learning (including qualitative/quantitative data analysis) are particularly encouraged to apply. Expressions of interest are due Friday, April 20. Application details, forms, and full guidelines are available on the Experiential Learning Leads web page.
If you have any questions about the EL Leads program, contact Amanda Brown at a58brown@uwaterloo.ca.
Executive actions in Beijing and beyond
It’s Wednesday, April 4. Do you know where your president is?
It’s a big world out there. Here is a non-exhaustive list of President Hamdullahpur's recent activities on and off campus and a look ahead at what's on his calendar.
As Waterloo is recognized as one of the premier institutions for producing job-ready talent around the world, President Hamdullahpur travelled to Singapore to take part in the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) 2018 Presidents’ Roundtable on Tuesday, March 27 to share our big ideas that will help shape how universities develop future-ready graduates.
On Thursday, March 29, the President travelled to Beijing where he visited Tsinghua University and participated in the opening of Tsinghua University – University of Waterloo Joint Research Centre for Micro/Nano Energy & Environment Technology. While in Beijing, the President was also invited to speak at the Canadian Embassy where he discussed the role of partnerships in driving innovation to a room of local business leaders, post-secondary representatives and government officials.
On Tuesday, April 3, President Hamdullahpur took part in the University Board of Governors meeting. Prior to the meeting, the President joined several governors for a tour of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.
What’s next on the President’s schedule?
On Thursday, April 5, the President will be attending and providing welcoming remarks at the 11th annual Staff Conference. The two-day event features world-class keynotes as well as workshops designed by Waterloo staff members that help to develop personal and professional growth in our employees and further creates a robust, vibrant, and engaged community.
On Friday, April 6, President Hamdullahpur will be helping honour our students at the Co-op Student of the Year Awards Ceremony. Six outstanding students will be recognized at the ceremony for their achievements in the Tatham Centre.
On Tuesday, April 10, the President's Reception for Excellence in Teaching and Research will be taking place where President Hamdullahpur will recognize the fantastic teaching of our faculty and the transformational work of our researchers. More than 150 faculty members and graduate students who received awards for teaching and research will be honoured at the event, which takes place in QNC 0101.
Learn how to make research connections in Germany
Are you a faculty member or post doctorate fellow interested in learning about research opportunities in Germany?
The Office of Research International Research and Partnerships team is holding an information session on Wednesday, April 11, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in QNC 1506.
The session will include a one-hour presentation by John Paul Kleiner, Senior Manager, University Relations, DAAD Information Centre Toronto covering:
- an overview of the German research landscape, and
- funding programs to support research activities in Germany and/or with German partners.
Please register to attend.
If you have questions, please email Tim Weber-Kraljevski, Administrator, International Research & Partnerships.
Transplant startup wins Velocity Fund finals
A version of this article appeared on Waterloo Stories.
A-Line Orthopaedics, a company developing implants for safer and faster surgeries, was one of the four big winners at the 21st staging of the Velocity Fund Finals (VFF) held at the University of Waterloo.
Velocity, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, is a comprehensive entrepreneurship program at Waterloo providing the resources and mentorship to help founders initiate and incubate high-growth startups.
A-Line Orthopaedics, founded by Tim Lasswell, who earned a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Waterloo in 2017 and his partner Parham Rasoulinejad, have been designing minimally invasive implants for spinal surgeries.
In addition to winning one of the grand prizes of $25,000, A-Line Orthopaedics also copped the top hardware company prize, worth $10,000.
A-Line Orthopaedics started out as part of Lasswell’s master’s thesis at Waterloo in 2016. He entered the VFF $25K pitch competition last fall but was not among the winners, only to return and claim top prize in the winter staging as the team focuses on commercialization.
“We have come up with a novel clamping technology that gets away from screws, and is much safer, less invasive, and faster,” said Lasswell. “It is not just the invention itself. We are also leveraging advance manufacturing through 3D printing and titanium alloys and looking at really high end computational modelling to look at the performance of the implant.”
During the competition, 10 companies pitched their businesses to a panel of judges representing the investment, startup and business communities. Judges considered innovation, market potential, market viability and overall pitch.
SannTek was among the other three grand-prize winners of $25,000. SannTek’s success follows on the Velocity Fund Finals $5K win in the fall and also its Problem Pitch Competition triumph, which is a collaborative effort between Velocity and the Problem Lab.
All four winning VFF $25K startups took home an extra $5K in intellectual property services from leading Canadian patent and trademark agency, PCK | Perry + Currier. They will also be admitted to the Velocity Garage startup incubator.
The other two grand-prize winners of $25,000 were:
- Bibu Labs – uses artificial intelligence to provide defense against cyberattacks.
- Fuzzbuzz – a fuzzing platform that keeps critical software secure.
“Within ten years, we have grown Velocity from a residence for students to work on projects, to a portfolio of entrepreneurship programs that inform, inspire and guide the entire campus community” said Jay Shah, director of Velocity. “We have become Canada’s most productive startup incubator, supporting over 300 companies who have raised $750 million in funding and are producing serious economic and social impact. The key to this has been to attract bright and passionate founders from UWaterloo and elsewhere, and equip them with the mentorship, workspace, funding, and a peer network that supports them in becoming high-growth, scalable startups.”
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo Stories.
Wednesday's notes
The University's annual 20 Minute Makeover takes place today from noon to 1:00 p.m. at locations across campus as part of Earth Month 2018. The City of Waterloo hosts this event across the city.
This event provides an opportunity for students, staff and faculty to play a part in cleaning up our campus environment. If you're able, grab a bag, gloves, and friends to pick up litter on campus. Register yourself or a team of individuals who are willing to participate. Stop by the foyer in Environment 3 at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday to pick up garbage bags and gloves for yourself or your team.
Retiree Mary Copp died on March 10. Copp worked in the Earth Sciences department as a lab demonstrator and retired in the early 1980s. She was predeceased by her husband David Copp, also a Waterloo retiree who worked in the co-operative education department and the Office of Research. She is survived by three children, including daughter Leslie who works in the Office of Research as a proud second-generation employee at the University.