Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Are you ready for the big game?

Fantastic Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Retiree Day is next Saturday, February 2.

Bring your family and friends and cheer on our men’s and women’s basketball teams as they compete against the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

There will be a kids’ activity during the women’s game and the annual airplane toss during the men’s game. The best paper airplane pilots will take home amazing prizes, including:

• $500 Best Buy Gift Card, Fitbit and Google Home Mini
• $500 Vision Travel Gift Card and Bose Headphones
• Holiday Inn Kitchener one-night gift card
• $300 Retail Services Gift Card, Keurig and Google Home
• 55” TV and Nintendo Switch

All registered guests will receive one free airplane upon admission, with additional airplanes available for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. All proceeds will support student wellness programs and services at Waterloo.  

When: Saturday, February 2, 2019 | Women’s Game 12:00 p.m. | Men’s Game 2:00 p.m.

Where: Physical Activities Complex (PAC). Free parking in Lots R and M.

Cost: Complimentary with promo code FAD2019.

To register, please visit the event page and follow the instructions.

See you there!

Emergency communication system test on January 31

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

A test of the University’s emergency communication system is scheduled for Thursday, January 31 at 10:00 a.m. Test activation and deactivation messages will be sent using the below channels:

• Tweets to @UWaterloo and @WatSAFEapp
• WatSAFE mobile app
• The ‘UW Emerge’ on-screen pop-up for desktops and laptops
• Skype for Business Instant Messages
• Portal alerts and push notifications

Your feedback on how these channels operated, specifically the newly added Portal alerts and push notifications option, is appreciated (helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357).

In the event of a real emergency during this test, please contact Police Services at 519-888-4911, or ext. 22222.

Be sure to install the WatSAFE app on your device to receive this test message, and more importantly, to stay informed of campus emergency situations. Visit the WatSAFE website for more details.

Wednesday's notes

President Feridun Hamdullahpur's visit to Davos and the World Economic Forum continues today. Yesterday, the president tweeted a photo of himself with President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Tony Chan. Chan was formerly the president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which has several partnership agreements with the University of Waterloo.

And while we're on the subject, in a bit of serendipitous Swiss synchronicity, the Current, a website funded by Swiss electronics distributor Distrelec, recently ranked the University of Waterloo fourth in a survey of “The Americas’ most innovative universities for AI and robotics.” Waterloo stood in rarified company in the ranking, behind only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California.

There are still a few spots remaining in the Professional Skills Foundations introductory workshop next week, according to a note from Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs. This introductory workshop is a requirement for participating in the Professional Skills Foundations program, a new professional skills credential for graduate students at the University. Registration is required through Eventbrite.

For more information, check out the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include: Grand Rounds, HSBC Bank, Electronic Arts Inc, Bold Commerce, PointClickCare, Loblaw Digital, Yelp, Perpetua, FDM Group, BlackBerry Limited, Cisco Meraki, Tesla, League Inc, and NVIDIA. Visit the employer information sessions calendar for more details.