Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Celebrate International Week from September 21 to 27

A message from Waterloo International.

The University of Waterloo is excited to celebrate International Week from September 21 to 27.

International Week is a great opportunity to recognize and promote the value of education and collaboration abroad, and the importance of internationalization on campus. This signature event will showcase internationalization through a variety of programmes, events, collaborations, debates, discussions, and an array of activities for the University of Waterloo community.

Several events and activities have been organized by various departments, academic support units, and student groups across campus. While most activities will be held virtually, a few will be held on campus with social distancing.

Let’s experience the world together. Please join us in celebrating International Week 2020.  Events and activities can be found on the International Week events page. Be sure to show us how you’re celebrating by participating and sharing on social media, using the hashtag #IW2020!

Want to test your knowledge about global culture and geography? Join WUSA’s Around the World Trivia Night for some friendly competition and a chance to win a $20 gift card to a local, international restaurant.

Wonder what it’s like to live in another country? Tune in to the Student Success Office’s Go Abroad ✈️

Exchange Live Chat to learn more about students’ exchange experiences in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Want to learn some of the best practices to help you plan your dreams going abroad? Join the Office of Research and Co-operative Education’s panel for useful tips and resources on a successful international work experience!

We have an array of activities for all members of the community, including an International Experience Photo Contest, a tutorial on international dishes with Renison’s very own Chef Tim Farley, the Waterloo Indigenous Student Association’s 17^th annual virtual Powwow, and a surprise pop-up event.

Special Collections & Archives offering limited in-person appointments

A message from the Library.

Special Collections & Archives (SCA) is pleased to offer limited in-person access to our collections.

This service is for current Waterloo students, faculty, and postdoctoral fellows for requests that support teaching, learning, and research. Access is by appointment only and drop-in visits are not currently allowed. This service is not available to researchers external to UWaterloo at this time.

To begin the process of booking a research visit appointment, Waterloo researchers should email archives.booking@library.uwaterloo.ca. SCA staff will respond with available dates, questions about the materials needed for in-person consultation, as well as a request to self-assess for COVID-19.

A maximum of three appointments are available in three-hour blocks on the following days:

• Wednesday 9:00 to 12:00 noon
• Thursday 9:00 to 12:00 noon
• Friday 9:00 to 12:00 noon and 13:00 – 16:00

In order to keep visitors and staff safe, we ask for our in-person appointment rules to be followed.

Shopify, Waterloo partner to help students sharpen e-commerce skills

This article was originally published on Waterloo Stories.

Shopify and the University of Waterloo have partnered to help students sharpen their e-commerce skills through a free online course.

This will be offered as part of the Digital Skills Fundamental courses that was launched in June. It introduces students to digital marketing, web design, video marketing, problem solving and sales. These six, non-credit courses are free to all Waterloo students to enrol and round out the workplace skills they are already developing in the classroom and through Waterloo’s extensive co-op program.

The Digital Fundamental courses were developed in response to COVID-19, when many organizations have had to pivot their businesses to an online model. It helps students build technical and digital skills needed to do this work.

“Partnering with industry experts helps us to fill this gap by equipping students with the digital skills employers are looking for to help transform businesses and workplaces,” says Norah McRae, associate provost of co-operative and experiential education at Waterloo.

Students who complete the program will earn a digital badge to celebrate the skills they’ve developed.

These courses were developed in consultation with Canadian industry partners who excel in the digital marketing and sales space, including Vidyard and Kiite, as well as campus partners, the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business and The Problem Lab.

Hire a digital savvy student

Many Waterloo co-op students have already enrolled or completed the courses, and are ready to support Canadian businesses. Any organization hiring a Waterloo student can also request their student employee enrol in these digital courses for free as part of their onboarding process.

Businesses can also consider hiring a team of students to help their organization go digital. When Waterloo announced it was suspending on-campus activities in response to COVID-19, the University quickly hired 320 co-op students to help transition to the delivery of online courses. Other organizations, like the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, have since followed suit. By hiring a team of students to make the transition, organizations will have the support they need to adapt to the current environment.

This article originally appeared on Waterloo Stories.

Distinguished Lecture will talk informing policy with science

The 2020 Water Institute RBC Distinguished Lecture will take place on Thursday, September 17.

Delivering the lecture will be Dr. Dianne Saxe, president of Saxe Facts and former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. Dr. Saxe's remarks are entitled "How to Inform Policy with Science."

"For those who make public policy, science is useful, but neither necessary nor sufficient. Based on 45 years of lived experience at Canada’s battlefront between the economy, the environment, law and government, learn:

• Three stories about science trying to influence environmental policy;
• The theory of how environmental policy is made, and
• Practical tips on how to communicate with policy makers in order to have evidence influence decisions.

Dr. Saxe is one of Canada’s most respected environmental lawyers, and was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario 2015 to 2019. She was appointed unanimously by all MPPs to report to the Legislature on Ontario’s environmental, energy and climate performance, and to be the guardian of the Environmental Bill of Rights. She is now heading Saxe Facts, a business providing strategic advice and information on climate, energy and environment, SaxeFacts.com, and hosts the Green Economy Heroes podcast.

Senate by-elections and other notes

The Secretariat has announced that there will be by-elections for vacant seat on the University's Senate.

"A call for nominations is now open for five faculty and student vacancies on Senate," says a note from the Secretariat. "Please see Nominations and Elections for more information, including nomination forms. If required, a by-election will be held for faculty and graduate student vacancies in early October. Voting for undergraduate student vacancies will take place from September 24 to 30, 2020 (see the WUSA website for more details). 

Available Senate seats include:

• One Faculty of Mathematics faculty representative, term to 30 April 2022
• One faculty-at-large representative, term to 30 April 2022
• One graduate student representative, term to 30 April 2021
• Faculty of Mathematics undergraduate student representative, term to 30 April 2021
• Faculty of Science undergraduate student representative, term to 30 April 2022

Here's what's new at the Centre for Career Action (CCA) this week:

• Wednesday, September 16:

How to Find a Co-op Job for Fall 2020, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.,  

Get a Job Using LinkedIn, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Information Session for Graduating Students, 4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.

• Thursday, September 17:

How to Survive your Medical School Application, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Exploring Career Pathways - Part 2, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

• Friday, September 18: How To Find A Job, 12:30 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
• Monday, September 21:

Résumé and Cover Letter Writing, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Virtual Interviews: Proving Your Skills (Graduate Students/Post-docs), 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

For more information visit CCA’s offering of virtual programming  online. Students can register on  WaterlooWorks.  

The University of Waterloo's Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3) is has put out a call for abstracts for the Ideas to shape the future: Student Leaders in Climate Action and Research webinar series. The webinar series is hosted by IC3 and the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. The top teams will be selected to deliver a student panel as part of the series, and the first installment takes place during Global Climate Change Week, between October 19 and 25. "Panels should focus on solutions-oriented themes within the broad area of climate change, and highlight specific student research, innovation, and action, which can include work experience and projects with partners," says a note from IC3. "Panels will be student-led and student-organized with support from IC3 and AHS."

Do you still have questions about remote teaching? The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Centre for Extended Learning (CEL), Library (LIB) and Information Systems and Technology (IST), will be hosting a drop-in question and answer session. The goal of this session is to provide instructors an opportunity to ask questions related to remote teaching of representatives from the Keep Learning team. "The format is casual, and we welcome you to join at anytime during the one hour period to have your question(s) addressed," says a note from the Keep Learning team. Join them on September 23, and/or September 30 anytime between 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Upcoming Keep Learning events include:

• Grading Your Remote Assessments with Crowdmark. Friday, September 18, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Online Instructional Skills Workshop. Approximately six hours per week for six weeks: 8:00 am Monday, September 21 to 4:00 pm Friday, October 30.
• Introduction to PebblePlus. Monday, September 21, 2020 — 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Keep an eye on the Keep Learning event sidebar in the Daily Bulletin for a full list of upcoming events.