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Equithon 2018 takes place this weekend
Equithon, Waterloo’s social innovation hackathon, is hosting its second annual event from May 4 to 6 at the University of Waterloo. The event brings together approximately 400 students from universities and high schools across North America, enrolled in any academic field, to create solutions to social equity issues in problem fields, with the problem fields rotating yearly.
At Equithon 2018, the categories are: Access to Education, LGBTQ+ Rights, Mental Health, Physical Disabilities, and Women Empowerment.
Equithon prides itself on being a hackathon with a difference - boasting no overnights and equal gender representation, instead of a round-the-clock event traditionally dominated by male hackers. Unlike most hackathons, Equithon will provide hackers with idea development mentors, who are experts in issues individuals face in their respective problem fields.
Mentors from these fields share experiences, expertise, and insights, with involvement from organizations like Bridges to Belonging, YWCA, KidsAbility at last year’s event.
On Sunday at 12:00 p.m., over 100 teams will present their software or hardware creations to a panel of industry experts. The top 5 teams, one for each category, will present to the entire audience of the event and media at 2:00 p.m. in the Science Teaching Complex.
Equithon was founded as a 2017 HeForShe initiative in partnership with the Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics. As a student-run social innovation hackathon, Equithon provides the tools for hackers to create solutions to problems in the fields of women empowerment, minority rights, physical disabilities, mental health, among other social equity issues. We strive to provide valuable experiences to beginner and veteran hackers alike by bridging equity issues and technology with experienced mentors.
Applications open for Problem Pitch competition
Velocity and the Problem Lab present the Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch. The competition invites teams of up to four students to choose an important industry problem, and thoroughly research it to understand its history, scope, and impact, before pitching the findings to a panel of judges on June 14, to compete for a share of up to $15,000 in grant funding.
The winning team will demonstrate the best understanding of an important problem and will win $5,000 to be used to fund R&D for a venture that solves the problem identified. The 2nd place team will win $2,500, and the audience will decide which team wins the 3rd place People’s Choice Award! Both the 1st and 2nd place teams will be under consideration to double their prize winnings post-event if they are able to demonstrate financial need and progress over time, in consultation with the Problem Lab.
Submit applications to The Problem Pitch Competition at velocity.uwaterloo.ca/problempitch. The deadline to apply is Monday, May 21 at 11:59 p.m.
The Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch Competition is a collaboration between Velocity and the Problem Lab.
Remembering Werner Packull
A version of this article originally appeared on the Conrad Grebel University College website. Packull joined the University in July 1974 and retired in September 2003.
Professor Emeritus Werner O. Packull passed away on April 27, 2018 at the age of 76. Werner began his teaching career at Renison College at the University of Waterloo and later moved to Grebel. Upon the urging of former president Rod Sawatsky, Werner joined the Grebel faculty in 1983 to teach Reformation history and pursue Anabaptist studies. He was a mentor to many, and his passionate teaching inspired generations of students.
“As a historian of the Reformation, Werner helped to illuminate the complicated and diverse origins of the Anabaptist movement—offering valuable insights for both the church and the academy," said Grebel Dean Marlene Epp. “He was a wonderful teacher, and a kind and humorous man.”
In a career spanning more than thirty years, Werner established himself as a premier historian of early modern Europe, specializing in Radical Reformation studies. He was recognized as the world’s expert in the history of 16th-century Anabaptist communities in Moravia. One of his books, Hutterite Beginnings, is a classic among present-day Hutterites.
In 2002, Werner’s colleagues and students created a Festschrift for him. Edited by Professor Emeritus Arnold Snyder, Commoners and Community: Essays in Honour of Werner O. Packull contains original studies by thirteen leading scholars.
After 20 years of scholarship and teaching at Grebel, Werner retired in August 2003. On that occasion, he established the Karin Packull Anabaptist Studies Award at Grebel, to thank his wife Karin, who steadfastly supported his endeavours and achievements.
“I believe that I took every single undergraduate course that Werner taught when I was a student here at Grebel,” said Grebel President Marcus Shantz. He invested a great deal of his time outside of the classroom in mentoring students, and more than one went on to careers as scholars with the help of Werner’s encouragement and support. The entire Grebel community offers sympathy, prayer, and support to Karin and the family.”
Student team races to zero and other notes
An ION light rail vehicle travels beneath the Engineering 5 bridge while on a test run this week. Remember to be aware around the tracks and rail crossings as testing continues.
A student team took a top prize at a recent international competition involving the design of energy efficient homes and schools. Warrior Home, which boasts about 50 active members, was represented at the Race to Zero Student Design Competition in Colorado by engineering students Sharon Emmanuel, Sara Turner, Anita Cheng, Rebecca Wong and Anirudh Dharmarajan.
The Race to Zero is an annual competition, open to students and faculty from any interested collegiate institution. The fifth annual Race to Zero competition included a new commercial building design contest in addition to the residential building contests, giving teams many options of building types as the focus of their design challenge.
The Faculty of Engineering news site has the full story.
There’s still time to submit an application for the Staff Enhancement Experience (SEE) Canada Grant. This grant provides an opportunity for regular full-time University staff members to further their professional development through idea-exchange and learning alongside counterparts at other Canadian universities, colleges, research institutions or industry-partner organizations.
The deadline for applications is May 11. You can download the application form and find out more on the SEE Canada webpage. If you have any questions, please email seecanada@uwaterloo.ca.