Wednesday, July 18, 2018

These are the issues: Empowering People

This is part one of a 7-week series in the Daily Bulletin examining the Strategic Plan Bridge to 2020 issue papers. Have your say and join the Strategic Plan conversation by providing feedback!

As part of the overall process to develop the University's next Strategic Plan for 2020-2025, the president, provost, deans, and other members of the Executive Council identified broad themes and issues vital to strengthening and advancing the unique value proposition for the University of Waterloo. Advisory groups were formed to develop these themes.

The themes were explored through a series of brief issue papers that will inform the strategic plan consultations and stimulate the consultation process with a series of questions. These issue papers were published prior to June's Bridge to 2020 event, which kickstarted the consultation phase of the University's strategic plan.

The first issue paper in the series is on the subject of Empowering People. One of seven strategic issues identified by Waterloo leadership was advancing equity, diversity, inclusivity, Indigenous initiatives and organizational development. 

The advisory group developed a number of foundational principles that underpin the empowerment issue: people-oriented, wellness, respect, communication, clarity, transparency, and consistency. Further, the group felt that wellness encompasses the Waterloo communities’ social, emotional, spiritual, physical and psychological health and safety. Many of the other concepts examined relate directly to wellness, with a wealth of research demonstrating that the experience of being marginalized or excluded is associated with poorer health outcomes. The attainment of campus-wide wellness is therefore considered an overarching goal that individual empowerment supports.

What would an empowered campus look like? The paper outlines some of the key components as including: a sense of belonging and connection; feeling recognized, respected, and valued; receiving support to succeed at Waterloo; absence of physical or systemic barriers; and a sense of responsibility towards the University and the land on which it resides.

There are a number of campus activities and initiatives underway in support of the empowerment principles and values. The paper gives a detailed snapshot of how the University is doing in the empowerment areas and makes suggestions for improvements, from improved accessibility to physical spaces and communication of service disruptions, to better campus participation in equity and diversity programming, to moving the needles on Indigenous participation in STEM disciplines relative to comparator institutions in the U15.

Check out the full issue paper (PDF) on the Bridge to 2020 website.

Thought-starting questions

• What initiatives does Waterloo need to consider so its members can feel recognized, respected and supported in achieving their personal and professional goals?
• What types of obstacles to full participation by members of Waterloo’s broad and diverse community persist? How best should they be addressed?
• How can Canada’s “innovation university” make meaningful inroads in Indigenous initiatives and sustainability?
• What should wellness look like at Waterloo?

Join the conversation and provide your feedback on the Empowering People issue paper.

Velocity Fund Finalists named

The 22^nd Velocity Fund Finals will take place on Wednesday, July 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Waterloo students and alumni will pitch their innovative startups for the chance to win funding to grow their businesses, and to receive workspace in the Velocity Garage, Canada’s most productive startup incubator.

Ten companies will compete for four prizes of $25,000, and judges will present one company with an additional $10,000 for the top hardware pitch. Another ten startups will compete for four awards of $5,000.

The pitch competition will take place in the Student Life Centre, Great Hall. The $5K competition starts at 11:00 a.m., and the $25K competition starts at 1:00 p.m., with the event wrapping up at 3:00 p.m.

The Velocity Fund S18 $25K finalists are:

• GoParkr lets drivers reserve the best parking spots in seconds, and turns real-time data into actionable insights for parking lot owners
• HITCH is a locally relevant education platform designed for African schools.
• Hodlbot puts your cryptocurrency investing on autopilot. Users can create, share, discover and execute any portfolio strategy on its platform.
• Intelline develops affordable and reliable cryocoolers, enabling widespread use of ultra-low temperature technologies.
• Karus Health is a platform that connects pharmacists to their patients, allowing pharmacists to create and monitor personalized care plans, facilitating effective follow-ups and more billable opportunities.
• Micromensio is developing a platform technology for low-cost, disposable, wireless biosensor microchips for bacterial identification
• RentHero is a virtual rental assistant that answers tenant questions and qualifies renters on behalf of landlords.
• SheLeads software enables female focused organizations to assess their programs to fund initiatives, evaluate efforts, and influence policy changes.
• Supercut guarantees accountability, elevates discussion quality, and drives insight for team meetings.
• ZetoTec is an application that gives small business all the support functions of a back-office on their smartphone.

The Velocity Fund's $5K finalists are:

• DEVINA is a one-stop-shop for contemporary fair-trade clothing
• Elevate is a game based e-platform that empowers individuals with Down syndrome to develop independent living skills
• gndrv provides a fast, programmatic, versioned data management platform for biological data.
• IntelliCulture brings the future of fleet connectivity to the agricultural industry.
• Material Futures Lab uses bio-pigmentation to produce new materials that are renewable, biodegradable and protective of human skin.
• Membio is developing hardware for manufacturing next-generation medicines.
• Nebula is developing systems to provide clean drinking water through fog harvesting.
• OcuBlink creates eye models to help scientists test and develop better eye care products – from eye drops to smart contact lenses.
• SpecialVR uses virtual reality to create multi-sensory environments for students with disabilities.
• Striive is building predictive customer engagement software for fitness and health facilities.

Register now to attend. Can’t make it in person? There is also a live stream.  

Wednesday's notes

Do you have HR questions? Human Resources will be hosting a Pop-up HR session in East Campus on Wednesday, August 1. "Pop-up HR provides a better client experience to University employees by setting up somewhere on campus and being available to answer HR questions on-site," says a note from Human Resources. "This initiative is a direct result of feedback received from campus through the HR Satisfaction Survey and focus groups."

Drop by the HR booth in the in the outdoor quad between EC1 and EC5 on August 1 anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. HR representatives will be available to answer any HR-related questions, including questions about pay, benefits, pension, leaves, career development, manager support and more.

You can also book private one-on-one meeting with an HR representative during the pop-up. To book a private meeting, or ask a question about pop-up HR, please contact Raghda Sabry.

Friends and colleagues of Custodial Supervisor Glenn Welch are inviting you to attend a retirement celebration in recognition of his 33-year career at the University in both Housing and Plant Operations. "He will be dearly missed by us in Custodial Services!" says a note from the event organizers. "Please join us in wishing Glenn Welch the best in the next steps of his journey." The retirement reception will take place on Friday, July 20 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Fed Hall.

There are no employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions. Visit the Employer Information Session calendar to stay updated.