Friday, September 18, 2020

Concept celebrates a year of student success

A message from Concept. This article was originally published on the Concept blog.

One very long year ago, in the simpler time of 2019, Concept by Velocity arrived on the scene at the University of Waterloo. Our goal was to connect and support more students who were keen to create impact by being entrepreneurial. We called ourselves ‘Concept’ because we believe in the power of ideas as the starting point to build or improve a business.

Velocity is humbled every day with the creativity and ambition that UWaterloo community generates and felt compelled to build Concept as an entry point to help unleash this ambition. This is core to our mission to support the UWaterloo community for an increasingly entrepreneurial world. That means we are entrepreneurial as well. Adapting and improving is in our DNA. We’re committed to maximizing the audacity of the UWaterloo community to be change-makers, leaders, and of course great founders.

To Our Partners

We want to extend a massive thank you to our UWaterloo partners who have been instrumental in helping us support and empower students. It takes an entire community to support entrepreneurship, we’d like to specifically thank:

The Science Innovation Hub, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, The Problem Lab, GreenHouse, The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, The Library, Housing, The Centre for Career Action, Co-operative and Experiential Education, The Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC³), The Graduate Student Association, Entrepreneurship Society, WatCo, Athletics, GEDI, School of Accounting and Finance.

As we celebrate one full year of Concept, what we are really celebrating is the incredible accomplishments of the students we have been able to support over this time. We have seen amazing student ideas through our three Concept $5K Finals in Fall 2019, Winter 2020, and Spring 2020, the Graduate Student Startup Fund, the Pandemic Challenge, and the countless projects discussed with our Concept Coaches. The continued engagement and commitment from students to entrepreneurship and the belief in themselves and their diverse ideas has been truly impressive. Each semester brings forth more innovative and imaginative ideas from a student population that has proved time and time again that entrepreneurship is always top of mind.

It is clear that UWaterloo will continue to be incredibly entrepreneurial, and we will be there as long as they need support. As we grow and continue to work with a variety of units on campus, students will continue to be at the forethought of all of our efforts and initiatives.

The Future is Bright

Later this term we will be announcing some incredibly exciting new programs and events with high profile partners so stay tuned. To stay up to date on all things Concept and exciting entrepreneurial opportunities, join our mailing list. We could not be happier with the first year of Concept, but with the creativity and enthusiasm from UWaterloo students, we know that the best is yet to come.  Thanks for a great first year.

Shedding new light on concussion-related vision disorders

A message from the School of Optometry & Vision Science.

People who suffer a concussion often experience visual disorders, such as double vision and difficulty focusing, as a result of their injury. However, very little is known about these often debilitating symptoms and how long they may last.

A group of researchers, including Dr. Kristine Dalton of the School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of Waterloo, is hoping to change that. The researchers recently received funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for a 2-year study that may be the first step toward new treatments for concussion-related vision disorders.

“Optometrists usually aren’t involved in treating patients with concussions in the acute phase,” Dalton says. “We need to be able to follow concussion patients over time to learn about the changes that occur in their visual symptoms.”

The NIH-funded study will lay the groundwork for a future five-year, multi-site study that will observe hundreds of concussion patients to see how and if their visual function and visual symptoms change over time. During the initial study, the team will see participants in order to determine the best battery of tests that will be used in the larger study and develop standard procedures for all participating clinic sites.

One of the key points of inquiry for the larger study will be to have a better understanding of when symptoms can be expected to go away on their own. This will give doctors a better timeline to determine when intervention may be needed.

“Right now, we don’t understand how concussion-related vision disorders change over time, which makes it hard to measure how much benefit additional vision treatments provide,” Dalton says. “This research will give us a better understanding of how these disorders progress and could one day lead to new treatment options.”

Waterloo is the only Canadian institution participating in the pilot study, which includes members from eight US institutions; Dalton serves on the project’s executive committee with Dr. Laura Purcell of McMaster University’s Department of Pediatrics, who is also the medical principal investigator at Waterloo.

While COVID-19 has pushed back the pilot project’s July 1 start date, the team is hopeful that patient recruitment can begin in the fall.

Register for wellness sessions on managing anxiety and remote work

A message from the Healthy Workplace Committee.

The University's Healthy Workplace Committee is pleased to announce that the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provider, Homewood Health, will be presenting their wellness session, Reducing Anxiety and Managing the Transition to Remote Work during the COVID-19 crisis, for the University five times over the Fall 2020 term through Microsoft Teams. Up to 50 employees can register for each online session.

Each one-hour session will be facilitated by a Homewood Health representative and will be broken down into two sections: Part I – Reducing Anxiety: This portion of the session will explore practical strategies and resources you can start using today to help mitigate stress and anxiety.  Part II - Managing the Transition to Remote Work – COVID-19: Whether you are a seasoned remote worker or new to this arrangement, the transition and associated uncertainty can feel overwhelming. This portion of the session will explore strategies for navigating the transition with greater ease while providing tips and tools to increase your wellbeing and productivity in this new work setting.

Multiple dates are available. Register for your preferred date today.

September 23 is UWaterloo Custom Jacket Day

A message from W Store.

It’s that time of the year again. Students and faculty are invited to wear their UWaterloo pride on their sleeve with a custom University of Waterloo leather jacket. Order your jacket from South Campus Hall on UWaterloo Custom Jacket Day and receive $75 off. Jackets may be customized with your graduation year, degree and program.

The jackets are available to students from all faculties. Faux leather options are also available. No appointment is required. For more details, visit https://bit.ly/UWaterlooCustomJacketDay.

Waterloo Police issue public safety warning and other notes

Waterloo Regional Police Service has issued a public alert concerning a high-risk offender who was recently released into the community. "Hayan Yassin, 34, was convicted in 2011 of Sexual Assault with a Weapon, Forcible Confinement, Sexual Assault Cause Bodily Harm, and Kidnapping. He was released in 2018 on parole with conditions and monitoring," says the police statement. "His parole was revoked four months later after he violated several of his terms. As a result, he was placed back in custody. He was released on September 14, 2020 and will reside in Kitchener."

Yassin has a number of restrictions as part of the terms of his release, but the most salient for the University is that he is not to be in, near, or around the campuses of the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University without the written permission of his parole supervisor. This area specifically encompasses the locations contained from Columbia Street West to Weber Street North, from Weber Street North to Erb Street East, from Erb Street East to Willow Street, from Willow Street to William Street East, from William Street East to Westmount Road South, from Westmount Road South to Erb Street West, from Erb Street West to Fischer Hallman Road North and back up to Columbia Street West.

"The Waterloo Regional Police Service’s Offender Management Unit believes Mr. Yassin poses a high risk to reoffend or breach his terms," police say. "The WRPS is working with Correctional Service of Canada to monitor the terms of his release (including through electronic monitoring), but are seeking community assistance to help reduce the risk."

"If seen breaching any of his terms, please do not approach but call 9-1-1."

We share this update so our campus community can stay safe, but we are aware that this news has impacts. If you need support, please connect with the University's Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO) at uwaterloo.ca/hrei/svpro.

The full text of the public safety alert is available on the Waterloo Region Police Services website.

The Engineering Machine Shop in E3 has announced that its inventory is now available online. The Engineering Machine Shop provides machining and fabricating services for the University community, specifically the Faculty of Engineering. The inventory system is behind a CAS login. Please note that the EMS only accepts Watcard and account numbers for payment.

The 2020 Optometry Rack Pack team will again be participating in the 'CIBC Run for the Cure' virtual run on Sunday, October 4 to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. "Our current total is $6,200," says a note from the Optometry Rack Pack representative Marie Amodeo. "As a breast cancer survivor and the team captain, I know how important research to find a cure is. We are gratefully accepting donations to our team at https://support.cancer.ca/site/TR/?pg=team&team_id=475255&fr_id=27275. Every amount makes an impact. Together we can make breast cancer beatable."