Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Newest issue of Waterloo Magazine ponders our urban future

The Spring 2019 issue of Waterloo Magazine is now available online.

Urbanization is the focus of the latest issue of the magazine. Feature stories include:

• The Mobile City: Lanes, Trains and Autonomobiles: As our cities grow taller, our commutes are getting longer. Meet the Waterloo alumni solving our urban mobility crisis.

• The Smart City: The Smartest Street in the World: Meet the Waterloo minds using algorithms and AI to save time, lives and insurance claims at our busiest intersections.

• The Resilient City: Brewing Renewal: Alumnus Callum Hay’s open-source recipe for better beer is helping revitalize a historic Toronto neighbourhood.

The magazine also contains updates on recent activities on campus and beyond.

The issue arrives in print in June.

Shadowing program helps PhD students explore diverse careers

Over the fall and winter, the Centre for Career Action (CCA) piloted an alternative academic career development program which matched 15 current PhD students with Waterloo staff members who hold advanced degrees.

The students shadowed staff members during their regular workday on campus to experience a variety of non-professorial roles that apply the skills honed through advanced degree programs. Many advanced degree students are unable to find reliable faculty jobs after graduation. While candidates with doctoral degrees can bring a unique set of skills to alternative-academic careers (or alt-ac as it’s commonly referred to), many students don’t feel as prepared for work outside of academia.

The Experiential Job Shadow Program, formally called Exploring Diverse Careers in Academia, provided PhD students with an opportunity to explore various non-teaching careers on campus while demonstrating how they may apply relevant skills from their advanced degree to such work.

Beyond skills application, the most measurable outcomes of this program were an informational interview students conducted with their host and the completion of a relevant case study prepared by that staff member. Students reviewed the case studies for current challenges in the field of work they shadowed and explored how the application of advanced degree skills could help solve real problems faced on the job.

The students for this pilot applied in late 2018, and were matched in early January. The shadow experiences took place during the months of January to March 2019. During this time, students participated in the hosting staff member’s regular activities such as meetings, workshop facilitations and daily project management tasks. The participating students attended a preparation workshop before shadowing their host and a debrief workshop after the experience where they participated in reflection activities and shared their experiences with their peers.

This pilot program was funded by the Career Ready Fund through the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The Career Ready Fund aims to create experiential learning opportunities for postsecondary students and recent grads to help them transition to work.

For more information on this initiative, please contact Katie Denomme.

Gear up for Bike Month 2019

June is Bike Month at Waterloo. In partnership with TravelWise, the Sustainability Office is hosting a trip-logging challenge and events throughout the month to encourage and celebrate active transportation to campus.

From June 1 to 30, log your bike trips for a chance to win prizes.

On June 5, join King Street Cycles for a bike repair lunch and learn to learn about basic bike repairs such as popped tires and loose brakes. Finally, stop by the annual Bike Lunch for free bike tune-ups and lunch snacks, and to chat with local organizations about all things cycling.

Whether you’re an avid cyclist or interested in trying out biking this month, there are plenty of ways to get involved! For more information, please visit the Bike Month web page.

Wednesday's notes

The next Project and Portfolio Management Community of Practice (PPM CoP) chat deals with the topic of Team Building. The chat will be held on June 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in DC 1568.

"Please come prepared to talk about your experience, feedback and/or questions about each topic," says a note from the organizers. "We hope you will find the PPM CoP Chats a worthwhile event to expand your knowledge of the various tools and best practices available to support successful delivery of projects!"

Anyone with questions is invited to contact Pam Fluttert (fluttert@uwaterloo.ca) or Connie van Oostveen (connie.vanoostveen@uwaterloo.ca).

The David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science will be hosting wearable computer pioneer and all-around cyborg Steve Mann for a special presentation on Friday, May 31. Mann is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto and has been recognized as “the father of wearable computing” as well as a pioneer in the field of augmented reality (AR).

Mann is also a serial inventor who has founded a number of spin-off companies with his students worth in excess of $1 billion.

The presentation takes place at 2:30 p.m. in DC 1304.